Dubai Airshow News 2021

DUBAI

Airshow News

DAY 3

November 16, 2021

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ALC makes massive Airbus buy in Dubai

by David Donald

DAVID McINTOSH

Fresh from its landmark order from Indigo Partners announced at the Dubai Airshow on November 14, Airbus followed up on the 15th with another huge order, from regular customer Air Lease Corporation (ALC).

The deal included 25 A220-300s, 55 A321neos, 20 A321XLRs, four A330990neos, and seven A350F freighters, marking the latter type’s launch order.

Details of the deal came to light during a video call between ALC’s executive chairman Steven UdvarHazy and CEO and president John Plueger in Texas with Airbus CEO continues on page 18

Dubai 2021: an aerospace oasis

by James Wynbrandt Marking the first major international aerospace gathering since the pandemic began, the Dubai Airshow nears its final days having already answered its theme, “The Future of the Aerospace Industry,” in the most emphatically positive manner possible. With more than 175 of the world’s most advanced aircraft displayed on the ground and in the air, civil and military delegations from almost 150 countries, pavilions from a score of countries—including for the first time the Czech Republic, Belgium, Brazil, Israel, and Slovakia—and an expected 85,000 visitors by show’s end, Dubai 2021 is on track to be the largest of the biennial gatherings since it began in 1989.

In addition to the exhibition hall featuring the products and services of the more than 1,000 aerospace companies spanning the commercial, military, business aviation and space industries, behind-the-scenes deals and news were being made among

the exhibitors. On the show floor, visitors attended conferences featuring more than 250 industry experts addressing issues including technology, space, and sustainability. Indeed, coming on the heels of the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP 26), the airshow’s focus on sustainability achieved resonance far beyond the world of aviation.

With many parts of the world unsettled, defense industry exhibitors showcased new solutions for dealing with global security threats. Some of the newest occupied the display ramp, including a scale model of Russia’s low-cost and potentially disruptive Checkmate fighter jet; a mockup of the UAE’s Calidus B-350 turboprop attack aircraft; Russia’s Mi-28NE attack helicopter; and a pair of special-mission aircraft based on Bombardier’s Global 6000 platform: the UAE Air Force’s GlobalEye and U.S. Air Force E-11A BACN.

Commercial aviation’s post-pandemic resurgence manifested itself in an order for more than 250 fuel-efficient Airbus A321neos from a consortium of regional airlines, another order for a mix of 111 of the company’s airliners from U.S. lessor Air Lease Corporation, and the world debuts of the Boeing 777X and the Leonardo AW609 tiltrotor. Additionally, ATR announced it is upgrading its new regional turboprops with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127XTs, powerplants that were introduced at the show.

The daily flight demonstrations thrilled attendees with thunderous performances by the UAE Air Force’s Al Fursan in their Italian Aermacchi MB-339NAT trainers; the Russian Knights flying Su-30SM jets; the Saudi Hawks with BAe Hawk Mk.65 trainers; and India’s Sarang helicopter aerobatic team in Dhruv rotorcraft, along with its Surya Kiran Air Force jet demo team, also flying Hawks. n

Charter

Middle East powers VistaJet › page 8

Trainers

Pilatus launches PC-7 MKX › page 9

UAM

CityAirbus aims for approval › page 12

Bizav

Aurus VIP Superjet on display › page 16

Freighters

A boom is on for P2F conversions › page 17

ADVANCING SUSTAINABILITY TOGETHER

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boeing.com/dubai

DUBAI

Saab’s GlobalEye, based on a Bombardier Global 6000 business jet, carries an Erieye ER S-band electronically scanned array radar.

DAVID DONALD

UAE’s Saab GlobalEye a feast for the eyes and a Dubai asset

by David Donald Saab’s GlobalEye, also known as the Swing-Role Surveillance System, made its Dubai debut in 2019, but at that time the company hadn’t yet handed it over to its launch customer. This year the aircraft has appeared for the first time as an operational asset of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence. As well as one example in the static display, another took part in the opening day’s flypast.

Saab developed the GlobalEye based on its 30 years’ experience of airborne early warning (AEW) radar development.

Based on the Bombardier Global 6000 airframe, the system carries an Erieye ER S-band electronically scanned array radar in an eight-meter fairing carried above the spine. S-band radars offer the advantages of an extremely narrow beam and low sidelobes, reducing the radar’s susceptibility to jamming.

The Erieye ER is accompanied by an under-fuselage surface search radar and electro-optic/infrared sensor turret, along with IFF, ADS-B In, and the maritime automatic identification system (AIS). Data from all sensors and from offboard sources is fused in the central C4I system, providing a powerful and versatile multi-domain surveillance system.

In the AEW role, the GlobalEye has an instrumented range of more than 300 nm and can track difficult-to-detect targets ranging from hypersonic missiles to low- and slow-flying UAVs and hovering helicopters. Overwater detection reaches at least 80 nm against small targets such as jet skis and

submarine periscopes, while the system announced an order for two more aircraft offers wide-area ground moving target to bring the fleet up to five. The two airindication capability against objects as craft now are undergoing the conversion small as 4x4 vehicles. process, having been delivered as “green” Operators benefit from an intuitive airframes from Bombardier. human-machine interface through In October, the Swedish government which they can apply various filters to approved the start of the acquisition prothe overall air/maritime picture. The cess to acquire GlobalEyes for the Swedish system features a number of advanced air force to replace its two hard-working features, such as the ability to portray on Saab 340-based S 100D/ASR890 AEW a map-based display the terrain “shad- platforms. No official number for the new ows” where radar coverage cannot reach aircraft has been announced but is widely and in which maritime objects of interest believed to be two, with further progress might be hidden. expected soon.

The GlobalEye mission system archiThere are a number of further export tecture allows for the application of soft- campaigns, with the GlobalEye being ware and hardware upgrades according included in a deal to sell the Gripen E to to customer requirements. The ability to Finland in an answer to that country’s HX integrate with a variety of datalink sys- new fighter requirement. Saab competes tems that connect the aircraft to ground against other fighter types but sees the stations and friendly assets is an import- inclusion of the GlobalEye as a unique ant element. “plus factor” in its bid.

In November 2015, the UAE became GlobalEye is also part of the evaluation the launch customer for the GlobalEye, for South Korea’s AEW-II competition, initially ordering two with an option for a which seeks a follow-on AEW aircraft to third, which it exercised in February 2017. the Boeing 737 AEW&C Peace Eye. The Saab completed the conversion of the first AEW-II program seeks to procure two aircraft quickly, and it was rolled out at aircraft, with the release of requests for the company’s Linköping, Sweden, plant proposals expected around the end of in February 2018. The first flight occurred the year. in the following month.

Current GlobalEye aircraft are based An intensive test campaign, which on the Global 6000 airframe , but Bominvolved winter periods operating in the bardier is phasing that model out in favor good weather of Granada in southern of the updated 6500. Saab expects to Spain, allowed the company to hand over switch to the 6500 at some point, notthe first aircraft in April 2020. The sec- ing that it is an easy process to adapt the ond arrived in September and the third new aircraft, which offers more enduraircraft arrived in the UAE in February ance and greater available power for this year. In the previous month, the UAE onboard systems. n

Since taking the lead on Emirates Airline’s very first flight, which was on a leased aircraft to Karachi, Pakistan, in 1985, chairman and CEO HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum has led Emirates to major achievements over 36 years. AIN asked him yesterday how much longer he would like to do the job, and he was quick to answer: “As long as my boss wants me to!”

As the No. 2 man in the Emirate of Dubai, despite being the uncle of Dubai’s top man,

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UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Ahmed is likely to have little choice in the matter. Now 62, close to retirement age for many, Sheikh Ahmed plows on as an inspiration to the Emirates team and has made a major contribution to Dubai’s global stature as a business, tourism, trade, and transport hub, with aviation now accounting for 28 percent of its GDP. P.S.-S.

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DAVID McINTOSH

Sheikh Ahmed continues building Emirates

a i n o n l i n e .c o m

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Airline chairman and CEO

Airshow News JAMES HOLAHAN (1921-2015), FOUNDING EDITOR WILSON S. LEACH, MANAGING DIRECTOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF – Matt Thurber PRESS ROOM EDITOR – Gregory Polek THE EDITORIAL TEAM Charles Alcock Cathy Buyck David Donald Curt Epstein

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SETTING NEW STANDARDS IN REGIONAL AVIATION EXTENDED TIME-ON-WING WITH THE PW127XT ENGINE SERIES Pratt & Whitney’s commitment to performance and innovation continues to lead the way in regional aviation. The revolutionary PW127XT engine series is setting new standards with extended time-on-wing, reduction in maintenance costs and improvements in fuel efficiency. Using the latest materials and engineering technology, the PW127XT engine series is purpose-built to improve airline economics and sustainability – with a dedicated global team of experts to keep you flying.

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PRESENTING THE PW127XT SERIES

ATR upgrades turboprops with new Pratt engines

by Cathy Buyck Not many turboprops fly in the Gulf The XT’s launch customer, Air Corsica, region, a market dominated by large hub- ordered five ATR 72-600s powered by the and-spoke carriers operating widebody new engines. ATR expects deliveries to airliners, but Franco-Italian turboprop start in November 2022. “This shows the maker ATR (Stand 1340) considers the value of the engine and that operators are Dubai Airshow a suitable venue to reveal happy with what it offers. It is in line with new orders and significant improvements our policy of continuous product develto the engines that power the ATR 42-600 opment, both to reduce the operating and its larger sibling, the ATR 72-600. costs for our client and further improve The company plans to replace the Pratt the sustainability of our product. The new & Whitney Canada PW127M engines in engine will support our journey towards those models with the new PW127XT the deployment of 100 percent sustainseries, which the company debuted at the able aviation fuel,” he said.

Dubai Airshow on Monday.

Currently, all ATR aircraft have earned ATR’s decision to partner with Pratt certification to fly with a 50/50 blend, and & Whitney Canada (P&WC) on the new the company aims to gain certification for engine was taken in 2018, ATR CEO Ste- 100 percent SAF usage by 2025. fano Bortoli told AIN. Calling the new Bortoli remained tight-lipped on the engine “a step-change in sustainability additional price tag of the new engine, but and airline economics,” Bortoli pledged the existence of early launch customers that ATR “is determined to continue set- for the engine “clearly shows that there is ting the pace of innovation within the a very persuasive business case,” he said. regional market segment.”

“The maintenance cost savings would outThe XT—which stands for extended weigh any increase in cost of this engine.” time-on-wing—allows a 20 percent reduction in maintenance costs com40-year Anniversary pared with the PW127M, according to Formed in November 1981 when AeroATR. The PW127XT requires only two spatiale (now Airbus) and Aeritalia (now scheduled engine overhauls in 10 years Leonardo) merged their two separate, but compared to three for the PW127M. The similar, regional aircraft designs into a sin40 percent extension of the engine main- gle project, ATR this month celebrates its tenance interval, also known as time-on- 40th anniversary. “ATR reached two other wing, means the overhaul interval will milestones: 1,800 aircraft were sold and increase from 14,000 to 20,000 flight 1,600 delivered to about 200 operators in nearly 100 countries since the beginning the program,” noted vice-president of marketing Zuzana Hrnkova. The ATRs rank as the best-selling regional aircraft since 2010 in the 50- to 90-seat market, collecting 76 percent of all turboprop sales and 38 percent of all regional aircraft firm orders, she added. The ATR’s largest market resides in Asia-Pacific, ATR CEO which accounts for a 37 percent share of the total fleet; Europe accounts for a 30 Stefano Bortoli percent share; the Americas 23 percent; hours. The companies also expect the XT and Africa and Middle East 10 percent. to consume 3 percent less fuel than the M “We are incredibly proud of what we series burns, further extending the 40 per- achieved so far,” stated Bortoli. Throughcent fuel-burn advantage ATR holds over out its history, ATR has followed the regional jets in the same seat category, same strategy of continuous developaccording to P&WC. “We are pleased to ment from the first-generation ATR 42 launch this exciting new PW127XT engine and ATR 72 to the -600 series and growwith ATR,” said P&WC president Maria ing the two models into a “larger family” Della Posta. “Optimized for the ATR with the purpose-built freighter ATR 42/72 aircraft family, it will deliver a sig- 62-600F and the shorter-runway ATR nificant improvement in operating costs, 42-600S. Launched in October 2019, that extending the already impressive operat- variant can take off and land on runways ing economics and sustainability of this as short as 800 meters with 40 passenregional turboprop.” gers on board in standard flight condiThe PW127XT will be available in sum- tions. The ATR 42-600S has suffered a mer 2022 and will become the standard slight certification delay because the engine for all the ATR aircraft, including company had to adjust the development the ATR42-600S, the STOL variant now schedule due to Covid-19 constraints. under development, the Toulouse-based It now expects certification in 2024, ariframer said. according to Hrnkova. n

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Emirates picks IAI to convert 777-300ERs Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed an IAI president and CEO Boaz Levy. “Emirates’ agreement to convert aircraft for its first air- decision to select IAI for the conversion of its line customer based in the Gulf, announcing passenger aircraft to cargo configuration is a deal with the region’s largest airline, Emir- a testament to IAI’s professional capabilities ates, to convert four Boeing 777-300ER pas- and longstanding international recognition senger aircraft to cargo configuration. in the field.”

The aircraft will undergo conversion at Emirates has been keen to expand the new site established in Etihad Engi- freighter capacity, said HH Sheikh Ahmed neering’s MRO center in Abu Dhabi, and the bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief first conversion of the Emirates airplane is executive of Emirates Airline and Group. expected to begin in early 2023. IAI said the “This underscores our commitment to supagreement carries the potential to provide porting our customers’ requirements and passenger-to-freighter conversion services reflects our confidence in our future growth to more aircraft. and status as one of the largest airline cargo Dubai-based Emirates is the largest oper- carriers in the world.” ator of 777-300ERs in the world, and EmirThe last two years put the spotlight on the ates SkyCargo is a major player in the global importance of supply chain connectivity and air cargo industry, with 10 Boeing 777Fs in the availability of air cargo capacity to global the fleet. As one of the world’s largest con- communities and economies. version players, IAI called the agreement “Emirates plays a key role in making with Emirates SkyCargo “a testament to the essential goods available to customers strong ties between IAI and the UAE,” and and consumers globally through the fruit of the August 2020 Abraham Accords. capacity available on our widebody fleet, “IAI is proud to partner with the brightest the reach of our global network, and the minds in the region to create solutions to advanced infrastructure at our Dubai the global demand for cargo aircraft,” said hub,” he concluded.

P.S.-S.

Emirates places order for two more 777 Freighters

by David Donald Emirates Airline has placed a new order with Boeing for two 777 Freighters. The aircraft will operate with the airline’s SkyCargo division, which currently flies ten 777 Freighters and carries cargo in hold space in the 134 Boeing 777 airliners operated

by Emirates.

“Emirates plays a key role in making essential goods available to customers and consumers globally through the capacity available on our widebody fleet, the reach of our global network, and the advanced infrastructure at our Dubai hub,” said HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates chairman and chief executive. “Today we are delighted to announce an investment of $1 billion to further extend our freighter capacity.”

The 777F can carry up to 225,000 pounds of revenue payload and flies to 4,970 nm, allowing it to undertake long-haul operations with fewer fuel stops and consequently reduced landing fees. Compared with legacy freighters, the 777F reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 17 percent.

Since 2005 Boeing has sold more than 300 777 Freighters, with 38 ordered this year. Recent orders tie to an increase in demand created by expanding e-commerce. The company’s 2021 Commercial Market Outlook forecasts that the global freighter fleet will grow by 70 percent by 2040 compared with pre-Covid levels. The growth will prove especially marked in the Middle East, where Boeing forecasts growth of 87 percent. n

Emirates SkyCargo already operates 10 Boeing 777 Freighters on its global freight network.

“Over-exposure to long-haul, intercontinental traffic is a liability for the future,” the report said. “Fleet flexibility will be essential to explore underserved short-tomedium-haul markets.

The Middle East needs to diversify the mega-hub concept, the report said.

“Opening new markets should facilitate intra-regional movement and economic diversification,” concluded Embraer. n

Embraer brought it’s “Profit Hunter” E195-E2 to the Dubai Airshow, where it notched an order for up to six E175s.

DAVID McINTOSH

Embraer wins order for up to six E175s

by Peter Shaw-Smith Embraer has secured a firm order for three E175 regional jets and purchase rights for three more from Nigeria’s Overland Airways.

Valued at $299.4 million at list prices, the aircraft will increase the African nation’s access to domestic flights and allow it to launch more regional routes.

Plans call for deliveries to start in 2023.

“We are confident that this is the right moment to invest, as regional aviation is seeing a strong post-pandemic recovery,” said Edward Boyo, president and CEO of Overland Airways. “Our customers will enjoy the comfort offered by the E175, and we appreciate the partnership with Embraer.”

Based at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Overland Airways operates two Beechcraft 1900s, four ATR 42s, and three ATR 72s. The airline commenced flights in 2002 with the aim of increasing the prosperity of the Nigerian hinterland by connecting hub cities and remote economies, it said.

“We are proud of this partnership with Overland, in support of their regional expansion,” said Cesar Pereira, Embraer Commercial Aviation v-p Europe, Middle East, and Africa. “We are seeing growing long-term demand for right-sized aircraft to deliver profitable domestic connections in Nigeria.”

Separately, Embraer released its 2021 Market Outlook at the show. The Brazilian manufacturer expects 8,640 jets and 2,260 turboprops, sized up to 150 seats, to lead to a market valued at $650 billion during the next 20 years.

Jet deliveries of 2,710 in North America in the 20-year period will account for 31.4 percent of demand, while 320 aircraft bound for the Middle East will add up to 3.7 percent of the world market.

The report said the slowdown of the Middle East’s global hub strategy presents an issue, with the pandemic weakening demand and prompting the development of new strategies.

w w w. a m a c a e r o s p a c e . c o m

THE PERFECT PLACE FOR BUSINESS AIRCRAFT

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VistaJet sees Middle East driving growth

by Peter Shaw-Smith Global charter operator VistaJet (Stand 490) expects its fleet to grow by more than 20 percent to 96 aircraft by the end of 2022, while in the Middle East, it saw a first-half increase of 153 percent in company flight hours against 76 percent in North America and 41 percent in Europe, compared with the same period in 2020.

VistaJet chief commercial officer Ian Moore attributed an increased number of flights in and out of the region to Dubai’s perfect placement for connecting east to west. “We felt that being physically located in Dubai helped us put a stake in the ground as Vista Global,” he explained.

“Being in Europe or the U.S. sends a mes- the desire for safety and security of flying had up to five family members looking sage that you’re just fixated on those privately. “We think there’s a continued to fly. Rather than buy more aircraft, markets. Being Dubai-based enables us and accelerated spread of shared owner- they looked for a product elevated to have a good, neutral view of how the ship, [through] utilizing global fleets and over charter, which continued to be a world’s going to grow.” experience,” he noted. “That’s what’s very “choppy and inconsistent” market.

He sees some of the world’s biggest driven particularly VistaJet’s growth over At that top end, they were looking for growth markets surrounding Dubai, with this time.” absolute consistency.

Asia, India, and Africa all nearby.

The VistaJet program concentrates on “We feel very comfortable at the VistaJet saw a doubling of new Mid- the full aircraft ownership user or even a moment with the demographics in that dle East members in the first half of full lease. Several acquisitions have now client base, coming from not just a mil2021, compared with the first half of combined to boost the company’s effec- lennial-type category, but actually previ2020. “The majority of that is on the tiveness. Recently acquired Fort Lauder- ous aircraft owners who would now like back of conversations that we’ve been dale, Florida-based XO provides private to have a fleet of aircraft available to having even pre-pandemic, where peo- charter and individual seats. them without having to pay for an entire ple waited until around the second half “On the XO side, that’s where the rest of fleet,” noted Moore. “Also, because of of 2020 to make a decision, and then the acquisitions are, with Red Wing Avi- the further globalization of the world, decided to move this year due to a more ation, Talon Air, and Apollo Jet,” he said. many people have kids that are at school positive outlook on where they see “JetSmarter was merged into XO. It is in the U.S. or a business that’s opened themselves, their business, and where really about creating a digital marketplace up in Africa. They have different places they need to fly,” said Moore. with a very efficient, fast, slick, fleet that they need to be, and having a fleet that The company plans to take another 10 we can use to underpin the digital market. can mix and match the right aircraft to Challenger 350s and another nine Global Red Wing is really the light-jet provider of a mission has become more popular.

7500s by the end of next year. “We’re the XO arm, and Talon Air also helps us We’ve seen a healthy mix of new and looking at a 20 to 25 percent increase on the aircraft management side.” older or more mature customers that in our fleet in the next 15 months,” he AIN asked Moore to comment on have had aircraft on ownership before, said. “That’s [significant growth] in a changing tastes in the Middle East, given but see the merits of having a shared fleet that’s already near enough to 80, the region’s historical aversion to charter. solution that feels like their own—and with the VistaJet look and feel. With our “I would have to differentiate our business that’s what we provide.” total deliveries, we’ll have 96 aircraft by model from charter as a starting point,” VistaJet is showing one of its Global the end of next year under the VistaJet he said. “What we’re seeing now is pre- 7500s on the static display line at the brand—and over 200 in the full Vista vious aircraft owners wanting to have Dubai Airshow. Moore calls it an airGlobal group fleet.” slightly less visibility.” craft that connects continents “far more As of October 8, VistaJet had a fleet He identifies a market that, perhaps directly, efficiently, and luxuriously” than of 76 aircraft and expected that figure 10 years ago, showed more reluctance to any other in the marketplace. The comto grow to 80 by the end of that month, participate in a shared ownership model. pany expects to have added another eight encompassing 22 Challenger 305s, a new “Now, because we’ve got past that [obsta- of the jets by the end of the year.

604, ten 605s, and six 850s, along with six cle] of providing a guaranteed service “That’s helped drive our flights, but also Global 5000s, 29 Global 6000s, and six that’s consistent in its luxury and tailored memberships and subscriptions,” he said.

7500s. Parent Vista Global’s fleet grew in service, we’ve broken that taboo. I think “We’re very positive about what the Midthe same period from 190 aircraft to 194. that’s something that’s reflected in the dle East can bring, mainly because we’ve Moore said VistaJet had seen its busi- numbers,” he said. got new people joining the company and ness jet charter model blossom during the A Middle East generation long asso- new people coming into the industry as coronavirus pandemic due in part to the ciated with full aircraft ownership was a whole. Such a positive outlook drives collapse of commercial aviation and to reaching a slightly older age and often future demand.” n

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VistaJet was an early adopter of the ultra-longrange Bombardier Global 7500 and by the end of next year expects to take delivery of an additional nine, joining the six 7500s already in the company’s fleet, which comprises 76 aircraft.

Bombardier adds line maintenance station in Dubai Bombardier (Stand 1325) has added a new line maintenance station in Dubai to provide Challenger and Global customers with “fast, efficient aircraft-on-ground service capabilities” as well as general line maintenance capabilities.

Located at Al Maktoum International Airport, the new line maintenance station offers two mobile response team trucks and is staffed by a team of nine technicians. The company’s facility also offers 3,000 sq ft of office space, stores, a tool room, and a general workshop.

“The Middle East offers considerable potential for Bombardier’s aftermarket business, with significant future growth opportunities in the region,” the company said.

The Dubai station has earned several aircraft maintenance certifications, including EASA, GCAA, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Guernsey, San Marino, Isle of Man, BCAA, and others, with FAA and GACA approvals expected soon.

“The addition of the Dubai line maintenance station builds on Bombardier’s extensive infrastructure growth around the world and highlights its enhanced investment in aftermarket infrastructure, new technologies, resources, and capabilities to drive value for customers and their aircraft,” Bombardier said.

P.S.-S.

Pilatus launches ‘smart’ PC-7 basic t-prop trainer

Pilatus Aircraft’s new PC-7 MKX turboprop trainer offers basic training benefits combined with optional add-ons that help student pilots learn about advanced features such as synthetic vision, autopilot operations, and traffic detection.

Swiss airframer Pilatus Aircraft has unveiled the latest member of its turboprop trainer family. The new PC-7 MKX, on display at the Dubai Airshow, combines the airframe and engine of the PC-7 Mk II with a new avionics suite and cockpit displays that transform the aircraft into a 21st century “smart” trainer suitable for a new generation of student pilots.

The company is aiming the PC-7 MKX at the military basic training market, for which the type’s good performance, ease of maintenance and repair, benign handling, and attractive operating economics rank as valuable qualities. The easy introduction of students to modern avionics and displays while still learning basic flying skills smoothes the path to advanced training and front-line types.

Pilatus pioneered the turboprop trainer concept with the original PC-7 Turbo-Trainer design that first flew in 1966 and sold significant numbers around the world, including to the UAE. The follow-on PC-9 of the 1980s introduced a stepped cockpit and added more power, later becoming the basis of the

DAVID McINTOSH

by David Donald

Beechcraft T-6 Texan II adopted by the U.S. military.

At the behest of the South African Air Force, the PC-7 Mk II underwent development in the 1990s, marrying the new airframe and avionics of the PC-9 with the original lower-powered PT6A-25C engine of the PC-7. Offering reduced cost of operation compared to the PC-9, the PC-7 Mk II achieved a number of sales, notably to South Africa—where it was assembled under license as the Astra—India, and Malaysia, and it remained as the low-cost option in the Pilatus trainer lineup.

Now the aircraft has undergone a major revamp that makes it a more applicable stepping stone to the modern military cockpit or flight deck.

Each cockpit has three next-generation high-definition display screens, comprising a large primary flight display

with various flight modes, flanked by two smaller screens. They can project a moving-map, a flight management system, and an engine indicating and crew alerting system (EICAS).

Pilatus designed the PC-7 MKX as a baseline system with a range of optional add-on functions and capabilities, including synthetic vision and traffic advisory systems, autopilot, cockpit camera, and a mission debriefing system. The complementary ground-based training system options include virtual reality tools and a full-flight simulator.

Pilatus is pitching the PC-7 MKX as a lower-cost alternative to the PC-21, the latter aircraft having gained good traction in the region with sales to Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, where it performs advanced training for students graduating from the PC-7. n

NEWS note Israeli technology firm Elbit Systems has opened a company in the UAE to foster long-term cooperation with the nation. Elbit Systems Emirates (ESE) will oversee the customization of solutions to meet local requirements and lead the transfer of technology to local partners.

“The Abraham Accords provide a sound basis for business collaborations in the region,” said Ran Kril, Elbit’s executive vice-president for international business development. “The UAE and other countries in the region are important new markets for Elbit. We believe that our broad portfolio of solutions positions us well to address the needs and opportunities in the region.”

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The Kuwait Air Force (KAF) has brought one of its H225M Caracal multirole utility helicopters to the Dubai Airshow, where it appears as part of the Airbus Helicopters display. Named after the desert-dwelling cat, the Caracal is the latest military iteration of the Super Puma/Cougar family.

Airbus received an order for 30 Caracals from Kuwait in August 2016, consisting of 24 for the KAF and six for the Kuwait National Guard (KNG). The air force formally commissioned the Caracal into service in December 2020 at Ali Al Salem airbase, following a resolution of powerplant technical issues that had held up deliveries. The KNG began receiving its Caracals in September this year.

Originally designated EC725, the H225M is a further development of the AS532 Cougar with a new five-blade main rotor, Makila 1A4 engines, and other improvements. It first entered service with France in 2006, and has won orders from Brazil, Hungary, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Thailand. More than 100 are in service.

Airbus is also presenting the H145M in Dubai, shown in its latest incarnation with a five-blade main rotor. The corresponding new-generation commercial H145 received EASA certification in September 2020. Representing the Airbus Corporate Helicopters range is an ACH175 with a luxury interior.

D.D.

DAVID McINTOSH

Kuwait Air Force Desert Cat on the loose in Dubai

The Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal “Desert Cat” updates the AS532 Cougar with a new five-blade main rotor, Makila 1A4 engines, and other improvements.

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Political heat is driving the sustainability beat

Collins Aerospace is tapping digital technology including artificial intelligence to gather and apply data to make airlines’ flight operations more fuel-efficient in multiple ways.

by Charles Alcock heating 460 homes for a month.

For Michael Winter, senior fellow with Pratt & Whitney, his team’s call to action addresses aviation’s journey toward accounting for between 18 and 20 percent of human-generated carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, compared with around 2.5 percent now. In the first instance, Pratt & Whitney still sees further progress in improving fuel efficiency from more improvements in gas turbine technology, such as the Geared Turbofan it introduced in 2016. Those engines have now surpassed 11 million flight hours.

To improve propulsive efficiency, Winter said there is scope to increase bypass ratio from current levels of 12 or 13 to as much as 15 or 18, as demonstrated in test programs with, respectively, NASA (under its Sustainable Flight National Partnership) and the FAA (through its Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions, and Noise initiative). He said new turbofans with such bypass ratios will be available for new airframes now in the early stages of development.

In order to boost thermal efficiency, Pratt & Whitney is working to have engines operating at higher temperatures and with smaller cores using new materials such as ceramic matrix composites (CMC). The company has invested over $100 million in a CMC pilot plant in California and a further $650 million to develop the capability at a facility in North Carolina to make higher-temperature castings to produce the required units at scale.

Winter said the industry needs advances in turbofan architecture and performance to deliver environmental progress that other measures such as

increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or introducing battery-electric or hydrogen-electric propulsion systems cannot fulfill. But those future technologies have entered development, and Raytheon has begun making investments in them as well.

“For hybrid-electric [propulsion] we see a sweet spot in the market somewhere around one megawatt with all the associated components that Collins Aerospace is developing for propulsion systems for domains of aviation including urban air mobility, regional air mobility, regional turboprops to single-aisle [airliners] and beyond ” Winter explained.

In July, Pratt & Whitney announced a joint C$163 million investment program with the governments of Canada and Quebec for De Havilland of Canada and Collins to develop a hybrid-electric demonstrator based on the Dash 8-100 regional aircraft. Over a 250 nm sector, the project aims to demonstrate a 30 percent reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions compared with existing twin-turboprop aircraft. Collins is providing a one-megawatt electric motor and controller, while Pratt & Whitney Canada focuses on the batteries.

Colleagues from Pratt & Whitney and Collins also are collaborating in systems engineering work to apply hybrid-electric propulsion to larger single-aisle airliners,

DAVID McINTOSH

Delivering more environmentally sustainable technology to customers and partners is clearly now a matter of “how and when” rather than “if ” for major aerospace and defense groups like Raytheon Technologies (Stand 1351). Briefing reporters ahead of this week’s Dubai Airshow as the United Nations COP26 climate change conference was underway in Scotland, LeAnn Ridgeway, the newly appointed chief sustainability officer with the company’s Collins Aerospace unit, said that pressure from political and business leaders, as well as environmentalists, is making it more imperative for the industry to deliver a credible path to reducing and eliminating carbon and other harmful elements.

“We are seeing an acceleration [in expectations for progress] and on a global stage there are a lot more conversations around this,” she said. “We are getting more requests for proposals with sustainability goals, and we’re looking to do whatever we can to accelerate progress.”

Aircraft engines are probably the most visible part of aviation’s environmental problem, and Raytheon’s Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace businesses are both active in implementing a multistage approach to decarbonizing propulsion. But government customers for the group’s Missiles and Defense unit also now expect greener military technology, prompting company initiatives such as reducing the power requirements for its vast sea-based X-band radar systems.

With improved liquid cooling and air conditioning, such installations now need 4.4 million kW/hours of power, which Jennifer Hubbard, executive director for strategic sensor systems, said equates to

Mirage shimmers in the desert

Fighter talk in the UAE centers around the intended buy of the Lockheed Martin F-35, but for the time being the UAE Air Force and Air Defence remains a highly capable force thanks to its F-16 Desert Falcons and the impressively agile Dassault Mirage 2000-9 seen here.

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which require around 18 MW of power for takeoff. They are looking at putting a 1 MW starter generator on the core of the engine and another unit on the low-spool of the turbofan to achieve a 5 percent gain in energy efficiency.

Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney is pushing for all of its engines to run on 100 percent SAF. As regulators address the 47 different parameters they must consider to ascertain whether any engine can use any type of pure SAF, the company has developed a test sequence to facilitate approval.

The FAA and EASA have shown differing viewpoints on 100 percent SAF approval, making it hard to predict exactly how and on what terms they’ll clear the unblended fuel for widespread use.

In her new role coordinating Collins’s concerted press to make aviation greener, Ridgeway said the company is increasing investments in materials and systems that contribute to greater energy efficiency and reduced emissions to contribute to the broad industry goal of net-zero carbon by 2050. Last year the company established a cross-functional task force with its customers, while also drawing on expertise and ideas from employees across all of its business units through what it calls its “Ideas Launchpad.”

To bring home to colleagues the incremental significance of their individual and collective contributions to improving aircraft and their systems, Collins has used a “benefit estimator” to show the correlation between weight and power. Roughly speaking, every one-kilogram reduction in aircraft weight results in a one-kilogram cut in emissions for every 10 flight hours flown by every aircraft in every airline fleet, the tool shows.

To improve the operational efficiency of aircraft, Collins is looking to harness the benefits of the so-called connected ecosystem in which real-time data is used for predictive functions that can, for example, optimize flight routes to burn less fuel. It will also deploy artificial intelligence and routing tools that leverage airspace information, atmosphere data, and aircraft state and performance data for dynamic route optimization. The group’s precision navigation and satellite communications systems are being deployed in work with air navigation service providers to deliver air traffic management systems that support operators in reducing fuel burn. n

PilotsGlobal sees Mideast pilot shortage in 2023

by Peter Shaw-Smith PilotsGlobal, a Wilmington, Delaware- required ex-pat pilots to have accumubased U.S. digital platform for pilots to lated more than 5,000 hours of flight time find employment at airlines around the for vacant positions, PilotsGlobal believes world, expects that the Middle East will it is well placed to fill cockpit seats when face a new pilot shortage as early as 2023 airlines begin to hire again. due to the dearth of local candidates to “Most of the pilots using our platform help fly for the region’s massive airlines. have EASA and FAA licenses, with the The firm predicts that the number of majority having over 10,000 hours’ flight pilots required in the region will stand at time on the Boeing 777, 787, and Airbus approximately 15,800 by 2023 and around A330, type ratings that are popular among 28,000 by 2031, eventually climbing to the flag carriers in the Middle East,” he said.

54,000 estimated by Boeing in 2040.

“We also have the flexibility to support Alone among regional carriers, Emir- low-cost carrier needs, including B737 ates, which employed almost 4,050 pilots and A320 type-rated pilots with signifias of October 3, and Qatar Airways, with cant flight time.” almost 3,600, will need an additional 3,150 PilotsGlobal launched its platform to and 2,250 flight-deck crew, respectively, marry the needs of international pilots when the aircraft that comprise their and airlines in September 2021. “We are order backlogs finally get delivered. the first platform to address this issue for “We do also expect the actual numbers both airline and business aviation marto be higher due to turnover rate not ket segments in equal measure,” Sagan accounted for in Boeing’s Current Market said, noting that Qatar Executive, the Outlook,” PilotsGlobal CEO Artem Sagan business jet charter arm of Qatar Airtold AIN. “However, it is important to ways, resumed hiring Gulfstream pilots note that some of the aircraft deliverables in recent months. will be for replacement purposes, thus not Middle East hiring trends would requiring additional crew.” depend on the pace of recovery from the When it came to accelerated hiring, pandemic. “According to the latest ICAO PilotsGlobal observed a trend of most Mid- report dated September 28, 2021, we are dle East-based airlines preferring ex-pat currently at minus 35 percent in terms pilots with FAA and EASA licenses, he said. of global seat capacity compared to pre“Given the current recovery in the U.S. pilot pandemic levels, while the Middle East is recruitment market, where most of the car- [down] 38 percent,” he said. “A lot will riers already restarted hiring again—while depend on how fast international traffic at the same time the European market recovers. We expect full recovery to preremains depressed—EASA license holders Covid levels by early 2023. To support the are likely to be the ones to fill the demand seat capacity of pre-pandemic levels, airwhen MENA’s air carriers start hiring again lines will have to operate at pre-pandemic at the previous scale,” he explained. fleet and flight crew numbers.”

Given that most airlines in the region PilotsGlobal already sees signs of

The Middle East will need 54,000 pilots by 2040, according to Boeing. increased numbers on the recruitment side.

“During the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Qatar Airways reduced their services significantly,” he said. “They made one-third of their flight crew, or 1,300 pilots, redundant; then in February 2021, some redundant B787 pilots began to receive recall emails. In July, redundant A330 pilots began to receive recall emails.

Currently, as of October 2021, Qatar Executive is recruiting Gulfstream captains.”

By July 2021, Emirates had already brought back to service 169 out of its 263 airplanes and restarted accepting pilot applications, returning hundreds of pilots a month.

Because the UAE is a small country with not enough local candidates to support its fleet needs, its two massive airlines relied on the recruitment of foreign pilots. As for regional low-cost carriers,

SOURCE: PILOTSGLOBAL

PilotsGlobal Middle-East Pilot Demand Analytical Data (Estimate)

PilotsGlobal’s estimate of Middle East airline fleets and pilot needs points to an upcoming shortage of flight crew.

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Air Arabia would need to triple its number of pilots by the time it receives all its aircraft on order, while FlyDubai would have to quadruple its current crew.

“Emirates will have to recruit almost the same number of pilots that they had pre-pandemic,” he said. “They employed 4,000 pilots before coronavirus and will need an additional 3,200 when all of their aircraft deliverables are received and air traffic returns to projected numbers. Airlines such as Etihad, Flyadeal, Gulf Air, and Kuwait Airways are nearly doubling in size compared to 2019, requiring twice their crew. As of October 2021, Kuwait Airways is already recruiting A320 captains and first officers, and Flyadeal is recruiting type-rated ex-pat captains, with preference given to FAA and EASA license holders.”

The Middle East was open to all nationalities, he said, noting that pilot ranks include professionals from 52 different countries, the top three by numbers being British, Australian, and Canadian. Four out of five Qatar Airways pilots are foreign nationals as well. He further noted that Etihad also had a significant number of Malaysian pilots in its workforce.

Emirates Airline is the largest pilot employer in the region, closely followed by Qatar Airways. The next two on the list— Saudia and Etihad—employ about 2,200 and 1,400 pilots, respectively. FlyDubai is the largest low-cost carrier in the region, followed by Air Arabia and Flynas. PilotsGlobal expects FlyDubai and Air Arabia to at least double in size by 2031, while Flynas remains on a trajectory to double its pilot workforce during the same timeframe.

Emirates hired from all over the world, including the U.S., through roadshows.

In recent years the situation has not changed, as the fleet has kept expanding, with the number of expatriates remaining at approximately 8.5 out of 10. Sagan referred to an earlier shortage as a pointer to the future.

“Emirates denies having had any pilot shortage before the pandemic, but the facts show that in April 2018 they flew 36 Boeing 777s and 10 A380s to Dubai World Central Airport, and left those planes there on the ground for months because there just weren’t enough pilots to fly them,” said Sagan. “The airline had to trim some flights and start hiring pilots from Etihad and other airlines to support its operational needs.”

He said it was very early for a proposed new Saudi national airline to start the recruitment process. The airline would first need to incorporate, start working on the required operational licenses and making fleet arrangements before starting to recruit the flight crew.

“We are not yet aware of any movements in that direction for the time being,” he said. “However, we are aware of certain private employers currently recruiting for the Boeing 787 fleet in Riyadh and Jeddah, but whether or not it is related to a potential new national airline remains to be seen. “ n

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News Clips Flyadeal Signs for GE’s TrueChoice Engine Overhaul Coverage

Airbus’s next-generation CityAirbus eVTOL aircraft will fly up to 80 kilometers with one pilot and three passengers, and the company expects it to be certified in the next three years.

EASA certification for CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL expected in 2024

by Peter Shaw-Smith Airbus expects its planned urban air aircraft will carry three passengers. mobility vehicle—known as the CityAir“The range is 80 kilometers,” she said. bus NextGen eVTOL aircraft—to gain “At 80 kilometers, we address 95 percent EASA certification within the next three of all urban operations. This is our target years, Balkiz Sarihan, Airbus head of market, the sweet spot we have chosen.” urban air mobility strategy execution and The CityAirbus NextGen is key to Airpartnerships, told media during a Dubai bus’s strategy of decarbonizing and modAirshow briefing on Monday. Meanwhile, ernizing its entire fleet. the company continues to gauge public “All of you are hearing a lot of talk acceptance of the safety, viability, and about a lot of activity and investment convenience of urban air mobility (UAM), going into this space,” she said. “For us, which will prove key to Airbus’s efforts urban air mobility, electrification, hybridto stake a claim to a major portion of the ization, and zero-emission flight is about development in the space in the coming our future.” years, she added.

Sarihan said the electrification capaThe CityAirbus NextGen combines the bilities under development for urban air best design elements of both the CityAir- mobility will be deployed across the Airbus and Vahana technology demonstra- bus portfolio. “For Airbus, it’s an investtors, according to Airbus officials. ment [related to] the future, not only for Three NextGen demo aircraft are UAM as a new market and a new industry already in existence, leading to an but about how we decarbonize aviation expected commercial operational win- and how we modernize our entire fleet,” dow beginning in the second half of the she explained. decade. “I think we’ve flown over 244 A key plank of this strategy centers on flights, 1,000 kilometers of distance com- understanding more about the physical bined,” she said. infrastructure needed to support oper“Sound levels and public and social ations, such as vertiport facilities and acceptance are absolutely essential. These charging equipment. Cities carry the onus aircraft and this service need to integrate to demonstrate their readiness to support seamlessly into the existing mobility sys- urban air transportation and architects to tem of any city. This means that it’s not rethink urban environment design. only appealing to us as aviation experts “Air taxi will be at some point a serand enthusiasts but to the average cit- vice integrated into our society,” Sarihan izen who wants to live in their city and said. “We see first-market openings in not have extra pollution.” emergency services, tourism, and shuttle The aircraft has the full backing of Air- services, reaching places where existing bus from an engineering and technical infrastructure doesn’t exist. These will perspective, and the company has estab- be our first feeder markets.” n lished a separate commercial entity to manage the development process.

With eight electrically-driven propellers, the NextGen can cruise at up to 120 km/h and generates 65 to 70 decibels YO U R S O U R C E F O R AV I AT I O N N E W S of sound, enabling it to blend in with www.ainonline.com existing urban noise. With one pilot, the

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E - N E W S L E T T E R F O R B U S I N E S S AV I AT I O N

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Low-cost carrier Flyadeal signed a seven-year agreement with GE Aviation covering overhauls for the CFM56-5B engines powering its Airbus A320200 fleet. The TrueChoice overhaul agreement includes time and materials for work on the powerplants of 11 of the narrowbody aircraft.

Previously, the cost and logistics for engine removal, delivery, and collection were the responsibility of the Saudi Arabian Airlines subsidiary. Under the turnkey TrueChoice package, they all are covered now by GE Aviation, which with Safran makes the CFM International turbofans.

Caerdav, which is an authorized GE Aviation MRO provider based at Cardiff in the UK, will provide the service. GE Aviation offers various TrueChoice support packages covering MRO requirements throughout the life of an engine, and all are backed by the manufacturer’s remote monitoring and diagnostics capabilities.

“We are delighted to be working with GE Aviation in developing its first integrated turnkey engine services program, which addresses the complete A to Z needs of Flyadeal under a single vendor agreement,” said the airline’s chief operating officer, Mike Hewitt. “It’s a testament to how a true low-fare operator like Flyadeal is driving innovation and change by working closely with key partners willing to adapt to the specific operational needs of Flyadeal.”

Ground Master Radar Notches a Century

At the end of July, Thales delivered a Ground Master 400 air defense radar to the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF). In September—following a site acceptance test—the system became the 100th radar from the Ground Master family to be deployed.

It delivered the first radar in 2010.

Demand for airspace protection has increased significantly in recent years, especially as the nature of threats has expanded to include hypersonic and theater ballistic missiles, and unmanned air vehicles. The latter offer a significant challenge due to their ability to be employed at low speeds and altitudes and in coordinated swarm attacks.

Thales developed the Ground Master family to meet medium- and long-range detection requirements. The radars are packaged into 20-foot self-lifting containers that can rapidly redeploy to meet operational requirements. There is also an option for fixed installation as part of a permanent air surveillance network.

Offering detection ranges of at least 500 km in the latest version of the long-range GM400, the Ground Master family is constantly evolving thanks to its digital architecture, which allows the implementation of new functions and algorithms. A recent example is a feature

that mitigates the effects of wind turbines.

The GM400 is partnered by the mediumrange GM200 and has recently been joined by the Ground Master 60, a vehiclemounted short-range tactical radar for land forces protection. Sales of the Ground Master family have been strong, with 24 radars sold in the last calendar year.

SAEI and Thales Sign MRO Agreement

Saudi Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI) and Thales signed a memorandum of agreement on the first day of the Dubai Airshow to begin a new partnership in which SAEI will offer Platinum Care MRO services.

SAEI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Airlines and lays claim as the Kingdom’s leading provider of aviation technical solutions. Under the agreement, the company will benefit from support from Thales experts to implement best practices with the aim of giving SAEI a competitive edge in the MRO marketplace, especially in line maintenance and the repair of parts.

“This important milestone demonstrates our ambition to become a world leader in the MRO market, working with established companies that will accelerate the pace of our industrial and technological development,” said His Excellency Eng. Ibrahim Al Omar, directorgeneral of the Saudi corporation.

“This agreement between our two companies is a tribute to our longterm partnership, the quality of our products and services, and our steadfast commitment to support the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” added Thales CEO Patrice Caine.

Embraer Lengthens Maintenance Intervals for Business Jets

Embraer is changing maintenance schedules for three of its business jets so that operators flying fewer hours can have inspections done annually, rather than every six months. The changes mean that Legacy 600 and 650 business jets, as well as the Lineage 1000 model, can now be covered by the LU12 annual inspection package, rather than the six-monthly LU6.

For the Lineage 1000, the manufacturer also has eliminated the requirement to remove the forward auxiliary fuel tanks during the 48-month check, doubling the interval to 96 months. The Lineage 1000 is Embraer’s large-cabin private jet based on its E190 commercial airliner.

According to Embraer, the changes result from an analysis review and optimization process applied to field data gathered from the Legacy and Lineage fleets. It collects the data from across the Brazilian airframer’s global service center network.

There are 157 Legacy 600s in service, plus 108 of the 650s, and 26 Lineage 1000s. Embraer said that the changes will significantly increase aircraft availability and reduce maintenance costs.

Stingray unmanned aerial fueling forging ahead

by David Donald Boeing (Stand 1200) has been undertak- flown more than 120 flight hours in the two ing a busy test campaign with its MQ-25 years since its first flight, and had expanded Stingray unmanned aerial refueler proto- the envelope considerably. Earlier in the type with the aim of ironing out any “bugs” year it had flown for more than six hours, prior to the launch of production. The and had reached an altitude of 30,000 feet. company-owned test vehicle—known as “The aircraft is performing well across the T1—undertook its first flight on September flight envelope, and we’re hitting our stride MQ-25 T1 refuels a VX-23 F-35C on September 13. The Aerial Refueling Store is the same as 19, 2019, at the company’s test facility at with the processes and procedures for fly- that currently employed by the Super Hornet for carrier-borne tanker duties.

MidAmerica St. Louis airport in Mascoutah, ing this aircraft on a routine basis,” said Illinois, 40 miles from the Boeing factory at Boeing test pilot Ty “Grouch” Frautschi. of inflight refueling from the Boeing Super order to expedite the development and Lambert Field, St. Louis, and has since kept “We’ve had Navy testers with us every step Hornet fleet, in turn freeing more F/A-18s procurement process. busy clearing a large number of test points. of the way taking advantage of the early for combat missions.

Boeing has the first two EDM aircraft “We’ve modified the normal ‘buy-build- learning this aircraft provides.”

In August 2018, the Navy selected now in build. The Navy plans to acquire test’ acquisition development model,” said The Stingray emerged from a long-run- Boeing’s design over competition from 72 MQ-25s for deployment across the Dave Bujold, MQ-25 program director. ning program to place a stealthy unmanned General Atomics and Lockheed Martin, carrier air wings. Initial operating capa“Instead of testing last, we’re testing first. ISR/strike aircraft aboard the U.S. Navy’s awarding an initial $805 million contract bility is slated for 2024. In the meantime, The result is an enormous amount of data carriers, but subsequently evolved into for development and production of four Boeing will continue to use T1 to refine that informs our production of the Navy’s the Carrier-Based Air Refueling System Engineering Development Model (EDM) the design, and plans to undertake deck MQ-25.” As Boeing puts it, the company (CBARS), the new program being adopted aircraft. In April 2020 it added three handling trials aboard a carrier to test eleis employing T1 to “strengthen the digital in 2016. The concept of CBARS centers on System Demonstration and Test Arti- ments of the vessel integration. For that thread connecting aircraft design to produc- providing a tanker with some low-observ- cle (SDTA) aircraft to the order. Boeing it will be transported to Norfolk, Virginia, tion to test to operations and sustainment.” able features that can download the burden elected to build T1 at its own expense in before being craned aboard a carrier. n Boeing has also invested heavily in model-based engineering, allowing engineers to predict how each system will perform under certain conditions. It then attaching the wings and tail surfaces can for the company’s design in September uses data from the test flights to validate take 10 minutes for each surface.

2018. The pair has performed more than the predictions, or to inform changes Industrial partner Saab builds the fuse- 300 flights since they first took to the air required if real-world results differ from lage aft of the cockpit, and the initial pro- on December 20, 2016, and have cleared a those generated in the digital model. “The duction of seven sections have started at number of important functions, including flights follow on many hours in the lab the company’s factory in Linköping, Swe- mid-air engine restart. In early 2022 the using the models to simulate flight and den. It shipped the third such subassembly aircraft will undergo high-angle-of-attack aircraft performance,” said Jim Young, in equipped form to St. Louis in Septem- testing at Edwards AFB, California. Boeing MQ-25 chief engineer. “Digital modeling ber, and this now forms part of the first cured the left-to-right wing-rock phenomis also being used to support MQ-25 pro- The first production example of Boeing’s production aircraft for flight. On October enon it encountered in some earlier tests duction, and to model sustainment plan- T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer for flight 13 Saab celebrated the opening of its new through a control law change. ning and growth for the future.” trials is taking shape at the factory in St. factory at West Lafayette, Indiana, which Boeing envisions a healthy market for Following initial vehicle system flight Louis, Missouri. Boeing hopes to get the will take over production of the eighth and the T-7A and is promoting the model to trials, T1 was fitted with the intended aircraft into the air by the end of the year, subsequent aft fuselage sections. potential customers such as the UAE. Cobham Air Refueling Store (ARS) in while acknowledging some delays to the Boeing is under contract to deliver 351 Meant primarily for training aircrew for 2020, allowing the start of tanking trials. assembly caused by the Covid pandemic.

T-7As to the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to current state-of-the-art and future tactical Initially, the tests focused on the behavAnother four T-7As have entered the replace the aging Northrop T-38 Talon. aircraft, the T-7A features a digital backior of the MQ-25 while carrying the ARS assembly flow. The process of putting The company expects to deliver four air- bone that allows it to easily embed livebefore wake trials with receivers began, together the major subassemblies can craft per month but, thanks to the digital visual-constructive training functions and eventually clearing the way for contacts happen rapidly thanks to the employment design and assembly process, it has the for the associated ground-based training to be undertaken. of digital model-based engineering in the flexibility to increase the rate to at least 10 system to be fully concurrent with the live On June 4, on T1’s 26th flight, it suc- design, including the incorporation of per month. aircraft. The cockpit’s 10- by 19-inch widecessfully refueled an F/A-18F Super Hor- self-locating part technology. Splicing the In the meantime, Boeing continues to area display resembles that in the F-35 and net from Navy test squadron VX-23. The fore and aft fuselage sub-assemblies can test the two BTX-1 prototypes it built for the latest Super Hornet and Eagle variants. history-making contact came after the take place in around 30 minutes, while the T-X evaluation that resulted in a win The Red Hawk’s model-based design receiver flew in close proximity to the facilitates addition of functions and capaMQ-25—at times as close as 20 feet—to bilities, making adaptation of the design to assess wake patterns behind the tanker. armed trainer, aggressor, and light attack On August 18 the Stingray then refueled roles easier. Boeing sees a considerable a Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye airmarket for such aircraft, but for now it is borne early earning aircraft from VX-20. concentrating on development and delivMost recently, T1 successfully refueled ery of the advanced trainer for the USAF a Lockheed Martin F-35C. During the Sepand is not yet marketing an armed version. tember 13 flight, the F-35C from VX-23 However, the company said that it is studyundertook a preliminary wake survey ing an October 12 request for information prior to making contact with the drogue from the USAF for an Advanced Tactical and receiving fuel from the MQ-25. That Trainer, of which at least 100 aircraft it completed the tanking demonstrations could require for use as aggressors and for the principal types of aircraft that the trainers for initial tactical instruction and Stingray would refuel in service.

The T-7 is a clean-sheet design embodying the state-of-the-art in training systems and the latest air-to-ground operations. Responses to By the time of the F-35C refueling, T1 had that RFI are due later in November. D.D.. manufacturing processes. It comes equipped with a boom receptacle for refueling training.

Production T-7A nearing first flight

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Here comes the King Stallion

by David Donald It may look the same superficially, but Sikorsky’s new CH-53K King Stallion represents a dramatic leap in capability compared with its predecessor, the CH-53E. The Marine Corps eagerly awaits the latest iteration of the CH-53 heavylifter, which is making steady progress towards service entry following earlier delays caused by technical issues, and with Sikorsky (Lockheed Martin, Stand 1290) recently handing over the first production aircraft to the Marine Corps.

Despite still undergoing an intensive phase of trials, the CH-53K has even notched its first official fleet mission, when an aircraft recovered a downed MH-60S Knighthawk from Mount Hogue in California’s White Mountains. The MH-60S had suffered damage in a hard landing at around 12,000 feet elevation during a rescue operation in July, and there were no obvious means of recovering it without a major disassembly in difficult terrain. Following an exhaustive evaluation, a CH-53K was called in on September 5 to lift the 15,200-pound helicopter and transport it to the airfield at Bishop.

This first, unplanned, mission was undertaken by a King Stallion from the trials unit VMX-1, which had established a detachment at MCAS Twentynine Palms.

The squadron is undertaking the crucial Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) for the CH-53K that will clear the aircraft for service. IOT&E has been underway since July, with four CH-53Ks assigned to VMX-1.

A few days later, on September 24, the CH-53K chalked up another milestone as the first production aircraft went to the Marine Corps in a ceremony at Sikorsky’s Stratford, Connecticut, plant. The stateof-the-art production line has another five CH-53Ks in build, with components being built for another 36. Schedules call for delivery of the second production aircraft early next year.

Initial deliveries will go to MCAS New River, North Carolina, where the Marine Corps will train crews on the “King,” as well as support Fleet operations prior to the first operational deployment being undertaken in 2024. The Marines have a program of record for 200 CH-53Ks, with 33 currently on contract and long-lead items being ordered for a further nine.

Sikorsky has already delivered four Engineering Development Model prototype aircraft and a ground test vehicle, followed by four System Demonstration Test Aircraft. They have undertaken many significant capability demonstrations, including the carriage of the maximum 36,000-pound load, and the ability to refuel in flight while carrying a 27,000-pound underslung load. One of the key Marine Corps requirements calls on it to carry that weight across a 110-nm radius. Sikorsky officially handed over the first trials aircraft to the Marines on May 16, 2018.

Sikorsky designed the CH-53K in answer to a Marine Corps requirement for improved heavylift capability. A plan

Refueling in mid-air from a KC-130J while carrying a 27,000-pound load is a feat that only the CH-53K can demonstrate. to upgrade the existing CH-53Es stalled and the new-build CH-53K was put forward instead. Despite its similar looks, the “King” is a major redesign, with a wider cabin to accommodate pallets, new rotor blades, and a host of new systems. The CH-53E’s three 4,380-shp General Electric T34 engines give way to the 7,500-shp GE38 (F406) engine. As a result, the King Stallion offers a dramatic improvement in performance, including a maximum load increase from 27,000 to 36,000 pounds. The “King” is faster by 20 knots, too.

While the Marine Corps remains the primary customer, Sikorsky and parent company Lockheed Martin have hopes for the CH-53K on the export market and have conducted a number of international marketing campaigns. This first bore fruit in February this year, when Israel selected the CH-53K to replace its first-generation

CH-53s in the face of competition from the West’s only other true heavylift helicopter, the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

It reportedly has drawn interest from Japan, and in South Korea, where a plan to upgrade CH-47s might be ditched in favor of buying new-build helicopters, opening the door for Sikorsky to compete.

Perhaps the strongest opportunity for the CH-53K remains Germany, where the government raised a Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH, heavy transport helicopter) requirement for 45 to 60 aircraft to replace the existing CH-53GM heavy lifters. Sikorsky teamed with Rheinmetall and other German companies to bid for the contract. However, in September 2020 the German government canceled the STH requirement on the grounds of cost, but noted that it would re-examine the project and that the need for a new heavylifter remains. n

DAVID McINTOSH

Honeywell adds more layers of protection to GPS anti-jamming prevention

C-2 stands ready to serve

As the transport aircraft of choice for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Kawasaki Aerospace’s broad-shouldered C-2 entered service in 2017. Powered by a pair of GE CF6 turbofans, the C-2 can carry four times as much as its C-1 predecessor.

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After developing the GPSDome antijamming system with InfiniDome, Honeywell (Stand 1432) has added two more layers of protection, systems that don’t rely on GPS and thus help protect against jamming. GPSDome is a first layer of protection, offering protection against lowpower GPS jamming. The new Compact Inertial Navigation System (CINS) and Radar Velocity System (RVS) add two more layers of protection.

With CINS, Honeywell engineers were able to pack tactical-grade INS sensors into a package “about the size of a deck of cards,” the company said. That allows aircraft to continue navigating during periods of shorter global navigation satellite system (GNSS) outages. Honeywell sees CINS as “especially useful in urban canyons where GNSS availability is intermittent or in strong jamming environments where anti-jamming systems are not enough.”

For longer GNSS outages, RVS provides

a radar-based navigation-aiding system.

The new technologies and others under development at Honeywell, including in partnership with InfiniDome, are designed for air, land, and sea vehicles, “to readily handle signal disruption and maintain access to critical navigation and timing information,” Honeywell said. Other applications will include autonomous vehicles, special purpose commercial vehicles, and personal navigation.

“The industry is demanding a rapid solution to address issues like jamming and spoofing that cause disruptions,” said Honeywell Aerospace vice president for navigation and sensors Matt Picchetti. “We are confident that with the launch of our new industry-leading navigation systems, our commercial and military customers will finally have access to a system that allows continued operations even in GNSS-disrupted or -denied environments.”

M.T.

Rolls-Royce’s massive UltraFan engine demonstrator is under construction and targeted to run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel, with lower fuel consumption, emissions, and noise.

Commercial engine OEMs detail technology research

by Chris Kjelgaard The four largest manufacturers of turbine aero engines for commercial aircraft all have launched significant projects to research and develop hybrid-electric propulsion systems able to power regional, single-aisle, and eventually even widebody airliners.

At the same time—and in some cases within the same research program—CFM International, GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney/Pratt & Whitney Canada, and Rolls-Royce are working to improve turbine-engine efficiency significantly, substantially reducing CO2 and other emissions.

CFM International on the RISE

In its Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) R&D program announced in June, CFM partners GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines (SAE) are jointly developing technologies that would reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by more than 20 percent compared with today’s engines. With RISE, CFM intends to mature a range of new technologies for engines that could enter service in the mid-2030s.

Central to its RISE research is the development of a new Open Fan architecture that builds upon, first, the original open-rotor research GE Aviation performed and flight-tested in 1988 in its Unducted Fan (UDF) project and the considerably more advanced—and vastly more environmentally quiet, compared to the UDF—Counter-Rotating Open Rotor (CROR) project SAE conducted successfully in 2017.

Travis Harper, GE Aviation’s program manager for RISE, said that—unlike SAE’s

2017 two-rotor-stage design—CFM’s Open Fan design contemplates only a single fan stage. Today, CFM envisions 12 fan blades for the Open Fan stage, aerodynamically three-dimensional in design and made of woven carbon-fiber composite material—a technology developed and perfected by SAE. The blades will cover a much greater diameter than those in CFM’s latest Leap production turbofan engines. But because no fan case will contain the blades, the overall fan diameter could match the overall outer diameter of the Leap nacelle, according to Harper. With such large blades—and also making use of a smaller core than typically found in today’s engines—CFM expects its Open Fan R&D design to produce an eye-opening bypass ratio of 75:1, nearly an order of magnitude greater than the 11:1 achieved by the Leap-1A and other latest-generation turbofans.

The Open Fan will produce almost all its thrust as cold air accelerated to a relatively low speed close to the overall airspeed at which the aircraft itself is traveling, in order for the engine to achieve the highest-possible propulsive efficiency.

Its improved propulsive efficiency will account for more than half of the overall fuel-efficiency improvement achieved by the design, according to Harper.

Because of their large diameter, the fan blades of the Open Fan development design will rotate relatively slowly so their tips don’t reach supersonic speeds.

As a result, a reduction gearbox between the low-pressure spool and the fan drive shaft will reduce the drive shaft’s rotation

rate greatly compared with that of the low-pressure turbine stages. Harper said the reduction ratio will far exceed that in Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan engines of today.

He says CFM used “the world’s most sophisticated super-computers” to achieve significant improvements in the Open Fan design’s acoustics and aerodynamics compared with today’s turbofans, without compromising function or weight. In addition to its increased propulsive efficiency, the Open Fan design will also feature greater thermal efficiencies than today’s engines.

CFM will achieve those efficiencies in part by using improved ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) and other advanced materials, such as new thermal barrier coatings. Additionally, however, “the Open Fan system does require a stepchange in the amount of controls” for the engine, said Harper.

Software-driven, the controls ensure the Open Fan design operates at its optimal thermal efficiency during each phase of flight—takeoff, climb, cruise, etc.—and that engine performance always runs optimally to the design of the aircraft and its systems. The controls will also monitor engine health in real-time, allowing

Dubai Airshow News

proactive resolution of issues and improving the engine’s utilization rate. Extensive use of software controls will also mean that, for the first time, CFM will be able to control the development design’s thrust using variables other than fan speed, which remains the only means of thrust control in today’s turbofans, according to Harper.

From the outset, CFM’s RISE program includes research into integrating the Open Fan design into a hybrid-electric system to optimize engine efficiency and to enable electrification of aircraft systems, as well as for the design to use 100 percent SAF and, potentially, hydrogen.

CFM has planned more than 300 different component and module tests across 150 test vehicles for its Open Fan R&D program.

Rig tests will take place at sites throughout the world, including some module tests at SAE. Wind-tunnel testing of the fan and engine-level tests will happen at GE’s Peebles, Ohio, facility, and flight testing using GE’s Boeing 747-400 testbed will take place from Victorville in California. CFM expects to achieve ground- and flight-testing of the design in the mid-2020s.

GE Aviation Teams with NASA

Separately from its CFM RISE work, GE Aviation continues work under NASA’s Electric Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) program to develop, ground-test and flighttest by the mid-2020s a megawatt-class hybrid-electric propulsion system capable of being scaled to power regional, singleaisle, and possibly even larger airliners.

Without much fanfare, GE has worked with NASA on the EPFD program for at least the past five years, according to Christine Andrews, GE Aviation’s hybrid-electric systems manager. The partnership came about following more than five years of work GE did on its own accord to research and develop hybrid-electric propulsion technologies, “particularly at the component level,” she said. “I think probably what is most surprising to the industry is that GE has been working on this for as long as it has.”

GE’s previous EPFD work culminated in NASA awarding the bulk of a $260 million contract (program partner MagniX USA, which develops electric propulsion systems for aircraft, won a $74.3 million award) on September 30 to advance the EPFD program to flight-test within five continues on page 20

CFM’s RISE program incorporates counterrotating open rotor technologies.

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DAVID McINTOSH

A Flydubai Boeing 737 Max 8 runs through its paces during the flight display.

Flydubai Max 8 on display Flydubai is displaying one of its Boe- economy and 10 business class seats. The ing 737 Max 8s and in celebration of the business class seat, with its high, curved UAE’s 50th anniversary has introduced a shell, provides extra space and privacy new design feature on its fleet livery. and is fitted with a 15.6-inch HD touch“As travel begins to open up and the screen. The seat, when fully reclined, creworld begins to connect once again, it ates a flat bed measuring 78 inches long. gives those of us in the aviation industry an The Recaro economy seat provides a opportunity to be optimistic, and what bet- “generous seat pitch,” Flydubai said. ter place to share this sentiment than with Travelers will also notice a newly key stakeholders at the Dubai Airshow,” designed decal on the aircraft to mark the said Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith.

UAE’s 50th anniversary: a circle inspired The Max 8 on display is one of 18 in by the Flydubai logo incorporating the airthe Flydubai fleet, which includes three line’s two primary colors, orange and blue, 737 Max 9s and 34 Next-Generation Boe- that breaks into colorful triangles symboling 737-800s in its single-type fleet of 55 izing the milestone, with orange for the Boeing narrowbodies. sun and sand, and blue for the sky and sea.

Dubai Airshow attendees can step Flydubai’s routes now reach more than aboard the Max for a taste of what Ghaith 95 destinations in 50 countries across called “an enhanced onboard experience,” Africa, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Cenwith sculpted sidewalls that provide a tral and Southeast Europe, the GCC and sense of spaciousness and an LED light- the Middle East, and India, including ing system that can be adjusted for any more than 70 routes without previous ambiance requirements. direct air links to Dubai or service from a The airline’s Max 8s carry 156 seats in UAE flag carrier from Dubai. n

DAVID McINTOSH

by James Wynbrandt

A Flare for the Dramatic

Members of the Russian Knights aerobatics team release flares from their Su-30 Flankers over the Dubai show site, generating a dramatic display for the crowds below.

Collins sees path to spotting pilot fatigue DAVID McINTOSH

by Matt Thurber

Russia’s Aurus VIP Superjet lands in Dubai While Russia has pinned much of its marketing hopes for the Irkut MC-21-310 on Middle East-based airlines, it also sees the region as a prime target for its VIP variant of the SSJ100 Superjet, the Aurus. Irkut parent company United Aircraft Corporation has brought one of the new bizliners to Dubai to let attendees see for themselves. Equipped with an additional fuel system that increases the VIP Superjet’s

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range up to 3,888 nm, the Aurus features a Russian designed and installed interior and a package of options for further enhancements to what Irkut calls a “comfortable cabin.”

While the MC-21 continues its certification campaign, the co-promotion of both programs in Dubai “is aimed at strengthening positions” of the company in the civil aviation market, Irkut said.

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Collins Aerospace and Seeing Machines have partnered to develop new fatigue-management solutions that detect pilot fatigue by measuring pilots’ eyes. Called the Pilot Support System (PSS), the new product aims to improve upon traditional—and burdensome— self-evaluation and reporting.

To develop the PSS, Collins (Stand 1160) is using Seeing Machines’ eyetracking optics, embedded processing, and human factors and algorithm expertise. The pupil-tracking system algorithms can help “sense a pilot’s level of fatigue and alertness, visible in a pilot’s eyes, to better understand the impact of their workload,” according to Collins.

“As the aviation industry looks to the future of intelligent aircraft design, understanding the cognitive state of

the pilot and crew is paramount,” said Christophe Blanc, v-p and general manager, business regional avionics for Collins Aerospace. “Pilot workload and wellbeing are key focus areas of our avionics design, and this collaboration will allow us to further support the pilots and their needs.”

Collins plans to offer the PSS to aircraft manufacturers and operators for forward-fit and aftermarket installations, once the technology becomes available for commercial implementation. n

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Covid-19 spurs boom in P2F conversions

by Cathy Buyck What would seem unthinkable a couple of years ago is now a sheer reality: an air cargo capacity crunch due to a perfect storm of increased demand and a sharp fall in supply has led to a boom in passenger-to-freighter conversions.

Supply tumbled with the onset of the pandemic in early 2020 owing to a fall of capacity in the lower cargo holds of passenger aircraft as international travel restrictions disrupted passenger services. Nearly 50 percent of worldwide air cargo traveled via widebody passenger lower cargo holds prior to the pandemic, according to Boeing. In parallel, demand to ship cargo by air received a boost from accelerated e-commerce growth, supply chain disruptions, severe maritime interruptions, and economic recovery. The International Air Transport Association expects demand for air cargo to exceed pre-crisis (2019) levels by 8 percent this year and by 13 percent in 2022. Over the longer term, Boeing projects a continued growth in demand measured in revenue-tonne kilometers of 4 percent annually in the next 20 years.

As a result, demand for passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions has surged, resulting in an expansion of aircraft types undergoing conversion, swelling of lessors’ portfolios, and a growing number of aircraft engineering providers entering the market across the world.

“We are seeing a more global spread of conversion centers,” remarked Bob Convey, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at Aeronautical Engineers (AEI). “This is a good thing, also for the environment because ferry flights will be shorter,” he said, speaking during a recent webinar on the future of the P2F conversion market organized by independent aviation consultancy IBA. Now operating five conversion facilities worldwide, AEI hopes to add more centers next year and increase the number of production lines from 13 to 15. That would give it the capacity to modify about 35 aircraft for freighter use per year, said Convey, who conceded that he hopes to boost that number to “50-plus” per year. The current and foreseeable market demand for converted freighters “seems to be supporting this kind of number,” he explained.

AEI presents just one example of a P2F conversion provider expanding its footprint. Almost all its competitors are doing the same.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI, Stand 300), for instance, in recent months concluded an agreement with independent MRO provider Atitech to establish a passenger-to-freighter conversion site for 737-700/800s in Naples, Italy; with Ethiopian Airlines to open a conversion site for 767-300s in Addis Ababa; and with Etihad

Technicians at Israel Aerospace Industries work on a Boeing 737-800 passenger-to-freighter conversion modification.

Airways Engineering (Stand 1110) to establish two conversion lines dedicated to the new “Big Twin” 777-300ER P2F program in Abu Dhabi. IAI also signed a memorandum of understanding with Incheon International Airport and Sharp Technics to institute 777-300ER and 777200LR P2F capabilities in South Korea.

Hot Commodity

Analysis from the AirInsight Group shows that 104 freighter conversions—varying from widebody jets to regional turboprops—entered operators’ fleets during the first half of 2021, suggesting a pace for more than 200 deliveries this year. That marks a steep increase compared with the 58 delivered P2F units in 2019 and 81 in 2020. “The P2F market solves both the supply and demand issues in the near term. Underutilized airliners become high-demand freighters,” AirInsightGroup noted, while questioning “how fast the conversion houses can deliver what is now a hot commodity, and how long the trend will continue.”

Boeing’s 2021 Commercial Market Outlook forecasts that air cargo growth will create a demand for 2,610 freighter deliveries globally in the next 20 years, and the bulk of the delivery units—1,720 units or 66 percent—will involve passenger-to-cargo conversions. The figure includes 520 widebody aircraft, such as the Airbus 330, the 777, and the 767, with

carriers in Asia accounting for more than 40 percent of that demand. The U.S. airframer booked orders for 133 freighters in the first nine months of this year, which Tom Sanderson, Boeing director product marketing commercial airplanes, described as “record sales.” Production freighters accounted for 53 aircraft—four 747-8Fs, forty 777Fs, and nine 767Fs— while Boeing converted freighters (BCF) accounted for 74 examples.

Airbus’s latest Global Market Forecast, released two years ago, projected that operators will need about 2,500 dedicated freighter deliveries by 2038 to replace aging fleets (60 percent) and accommodate growth (40 percent). The company expects 850 deliveries will involve newbuild aircraft and 1,650 P2F conversions, of which just under 1,000 conversions fall into the “small” freighter category, where aircraft payload ranges from 10 tonnes to 40 tonnes.

Boeing Dominance

Boeing historically has dominated P2F conversions. Airbus, however, aims to take a bite out of its rival’s market share. The European OEM launched the A330P2F program at the Singapore Airshow in 2012 and three years later, at the Paris Airshow, it unveiled plans to develop a P2F conversion program for the A320 and A321 narrowbody airframe.

Airbus established both the widebody

The first A321 converted to freighter configuration began service in October 2021 for Qantas, which operates the aircraft on behalf of Australia Post.

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and narrowbody passenger-to-freighter modification programs through a collaboration with Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), its joint venture with Singapore-based ST Engineering Aerospace.

The A330-300P2F and the higher-density, longer-range A330-200P2F received European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) supplemental type Certificates (STCs) in November 2017 and July 2018, respectively; the first examples went to German express delivery firm DHL in December 2017 and EgyptAir Cargo in August 2018. The first A321 converted freighter entered service in October 2020 with Qantas for services on behalf of Australia Post. However, a slight delay has beset the A320P2F program, designed to compete with the highly successful 737 passenger-to-freighter conversions. EFW now aims to achieve the STC for the A320P2F in 2022 rather than this year.

Six A321-200P2Fs now operate in service and some 19 are reserved for conversions, according to IBA data. The program remains in its infancy, but IBA predicts it will evolve into a competitor of the 757 passenger-to-freighter conversion. “The 757 is still being converted in substantial numbers but as the [757] feedstock dries up eventually and the prices of the A321 passenger aircraft come down, we see a whole raft of A321-200 conversions ahead,” asserted IBA’s head analyst commercial and aging aircraft, Jonathan McDonald. The initial A321-200 conversions involved aircraft built in the late 1990s, but as more A321neos come online and more A321ceos retire from passenger service, a trend accelerated by Covid-19 and pressure to cut CO2 emissions, younger examples have begun to appear as conversions. Lufthansa Cargo will operate the youngest A321 reserved for P2F adaptation—an ex-Eurowings aircraft built in 2008—once EFW finishes the conversion.

Besides EFW, several other companies have entered or plan to enter the conversion market for A321-200 and A330s. With the air cargo business booming and the EFW A330P2F production lines—some 100 slots—sold out through 2025, IAI decided it was time to deliver on its yearlong pledge to establish its own A330-300 freighter conversion program in cooperation with Dublin-based aircraft lessor Avolon. Under the terms of the agreement, announced in October, Avolon has agreed to take 30 A330-300P2F conversion slots from 2025 to 2028 and support the Israeli state-owned aerospace company with the development of an STC for the A330-300P2F. Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer, speaking with reporters during a briefing on the sidelines of the IATA Annual General Meeting in Boston in October, said he welcomed the move of IAI to enter A330P2F conversion. “Airbus is a shareholder of EFW, so we have the best of interest in that particular

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Air Lease order adds 111 to Airbus tally Guillaume Faury and CCO Christian Scherer in Dubai. The 111 aircraft bring ALC’s orders for Airbus aircraft to 496.

“ALC was the launch customer for the very popular A321LR and XLR versions.

Now, we become the launch lessor for the A350F and by far the largest lessor customer for the A220,” commented Udvar-Hazy.

“We had the vision to be first adopters of the A321 and are convinced we have made the right choice again on the A220 and A350F, responding to what we see the market will need in the period of recovery ahead.”

Faury expressed his opinion that the deal represented a sign that “things are starting to look more positive” as the industry rebounds from effects of the Covid pandemic. Udvar-Hazy concurred: “Today

is November 15, 2021. The day has come where we will look forward, not back.”

ALC noted it sees increased demand for the A220, of which the lessor already has ordered 50. The 25 recently added represent the exercise of an option on an earlier order. Demand for the A321neo remains strong, and this latest order will increase the size of ALC’s fleet to almost 300. Airbus agreed to schedule most of the new order, including the A321XLRs, for delivery in the second half of the 2020s.

Faury said that Airbus has committed to reaching monthly production of 65 aircraft by mid-2023 while it studies raising that rate to 70 or even 75 thereafter. The four A330neos continue to expand ALC’s portfolio of the widebody type, and all have already been placed with operators.

As launch customer for the A350 freighter, Udvar-Hazy noted that seven aircraft “was a good place to start” and hoped to add more in the future. Developed to meet a demand from the market, the aircraft offers a range of nearly 5,000 nm with

DAVID DONALD

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a full 109-tonne payload and, crucially, is the only aircraft that can meet the target figures for noise and emissions slated to come into effect in 2027.

ALC has already entered discussions with five potential customers for the A350F, which is due for delivery starting in 2026. By that time, Airbus believes, operators of many of the current converted airliner-type freighters such as the Boeing 747 and MD-11 will have begun the process of removing them from service. The efficiencies that new aircraft can bring to the

The announcement of ALC’s 111-aircraft order of Airbus jets was made online and included ALC CCO Christian Scherer (left) and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. cargo sector compared with legacy types are far more pronounced over long-haul routes, and Airbus envisions a global longhaul fleet of about 900 aircraft, of which the proportion of new-build aircraft will increase compared to today’s figures.

Faury also confirmed that Airbus is studying single-pilot operation (SPO) , and that the freight sector would be a good place to start. He further suggested that the A350 would be an ideal candidate for SPO flights due to its advanced flight control system and avionics. n

CAE to add a Global 6500 simulator to the Emirates-CAE Flight Training Centre CAE will deploy a new Bombardier Global aviation pilots and operators across the 6500 full flight simulator (FFS) at the Emir- globe,” said Nick Leontidis, group president ates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT) Centre in of Civil Aviation Training Solutions at CAE, Dubai, the Canadian simulator specialist a Bombardier authorized training partner. said at the Dubai Airshow on Monday.

“The brand-new CAE Global 6500 FSS will The Global 6500 FFS, the first to appear heighten the pilot training experience in the outside the Americas, will be available for Middle East and help strengthen business training in 2023 at the ECFT center in Al Gar- aviation pilots’ skills.” houd, Dubai. CAE’s Global 6500 training now “This addition will better serve the operis available only at its Montreal training center. ators in the region with CAE’s cutting edge “We place great importance on support- technology,” added Emirates Group execuing the increasing training needs of business tive v-p Steve Allen.

J.W.

Sustainability forum touts industry efforts

by James Wynbrandt Sustainability and decarbonization took center stage during the “UAE’s Commitment to Sustainability: creating a more sustainable circular economy” forum at the Dubai Airshow on Monday. Moderated

by Joseph McMonigle, secretary general of the International Energy Forum, top executives from Airbus, Boeing, Rolls-Royce, and Etihad Aviation Group reported on their efforts and achievements in the arena.

The Greenliner sustainability platform,

an Etihad 787-10, recently completed a flight from London to Abu Dhabi that realized a 72 percent improvement in fuel efficiency compared to an A380 flight in 2019, said Tony Douglas, Etihad Aviation Group CEO. The improvement came in part from the use of 38 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and ATC services that allowed a continuous climb and descent, as well as route optimization.

The Greenliner also holds the record for

DAVID McINTOSH

Etihad’s 787-10 “Greenliner” is proving sustainability practices.

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longest flight using sustainable aviation fuel: 14 hours on 50 percent SAF. Looking back as well as forward, Julie Kitcher, executive v-p of communications and corporate affairs at Airbus, noted the aviation industry has reduced CO2 emissions by more than 50 percent since the last century simply through the 20 percent to 25 percent improvements in efficiency with each generation of aircraft. Yet only about 10 percent of today’s commercial fleet consists of current-generation aircraft.

All panelists agreed the sustainability challenge includes creating new infrastructures while maintaining economic viability to support the promising technologies under development. Boeing chief sustainability officer Chris Raymond called “innovation and partnerships

critical to the sustainability [effort]” and applauded airlines for fleet renewals, which he called “hugely beneficial” in reducing operating costs and emissions.

Boeing tested the fuel-saving winglets found on many airliners today with the EcoDemonstrator program, he noted. The company now participates in the development of electric engines with the Wisk Cora, which has flown more than 1,500 times.

With SAF as the most promising development for reducing turbine engine emissions, Rolls-Royce has committed that all its turbines will be operable on 100 percent SAF by 2030. It also sees a “huge opportunity” in electrification for shorthaul routes and hybrid turbo-generators to extend range of electric aircraft.

Hydrogen power also holds tremendous promise, and Rolls-Royce flies five different aircraft on four types of hydrogen power. The company is also exploring hydrogen as a feedstock for SAF, which will require the generation of electricity from renewable sources. n

Bizav group sees Dubai Airshow as signposting wider recovery

by Peter Shaw-Smith The Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) is confident that 2021 Dubai Airshow, the first major international aviation show calendar event to take place in well over a year, will presage a return to form for the region’s business aviation community. In fact, the sector has a strong showing in terms of traffic volumes over recent quarters due, in part, to the dearth of scheduled flights available in the Gulf.

“Dubai Airshow is a big show,” founding and executive chairman, Ali Alnaqbi, told AIN in an pre-show interview. “Business aviation is going to be a strong presence.”

Everybody was hoping to see confidence come back, he said, even though smaller helicopter and travel events had taken place in Dubai in the past year.

“There were a couple of smaller shows in Dubai in the past 12 months, but not on the scale of Dubai Airshow or the MEBAA show,” he said.

“I hope it goes well and restores confidence in the industry,” he added. “This is the kind of event that everyone looks to.

There’s a lot of involvement on the government and protocol sides. It’s a gathering for aviation, an event that will give people a sense of perspective in the effort to get back to normal.”

Things were shaping up well, he said, with visitors and delegations from many countries reversing earlier decisions not to attend. “The UAE government has eased some restrictions. It is going to be an event where people will feel comfortable to go back to business.”

Alnaqbi said the business aviation migration from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Dubai South (DWC), a key gauge of industry health in the city, was continuing, with only a minimum number of flights taking place at DXB. According to sources familiar with the situation, the UAE authorities appear not to want to public position DXB as a hub for business aviation movements.

“It’s continuing and growth is healthy.

Only the minimum is happening at DXB,” Alnaqbi explained. “When a number of Emirates flights were grounded [due to the pandemic], slots were available and many operators tried to fly from DXB. But apart from Jet Aviation and ExecuJet, there are no other FBOs available there, and both of them are authorized to operate at DWC. The migration is happening naturally.”

Official first-half numbers at the DWC VIP Terminal bear out Alnaqbi’s comments. In the first half of 2020, movements fell 41 percent to 1,811, before jumping 347 percent in the same period this year to 8,088. Although the accompanying figures were not released, full-year movements

Ali Alnaqbi is the founder of the Middle East Business Aviation Association.

This is the kind of event that everyone looks to.” were up 21 percent in 2020, according to official government estimates.

“Business aviation is now in better shape than in the [second] quarter and the beginning of the year,” he said. “There were a lot of restrictions on the airlines, so business aviation was often the only way to move passengers around.

“If you talk to the FBOs, you’ll see that a lot of movements are happening.

Although I think comparisons with 2018 or 2019 are unfair, we’ve reached a point where there are movements happening

in all sorts of ways. Requests are being received by several charter companies, and FBOs are handling a lot of aircraft.

Business aviation is coming back, and recovering slowly but surely.”

Qatar Executive has continued to be the pick of the region’s charter operators and took delivery of its first Gulfstream G700 long-range jet as launch customer in August. The formal cessation of the boycott of Qatar by four Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, took place in January.

Alnaqbi said that although Qatar Executive movements were largely government-related, its dominant position in the region meant that MEBAA would continue to try to build bridges with it. “I would say 90-95 percent of [its] business aircraft movements are government or government-related, such as royal, VIP or head-of-state families. Although they announced the acquisition of several aircraft recently, they are not in cooperation with us. We hope to open some doors with them…in the future.”

In addition to his MEBAA role, Alnaqbi continues to serve as chairman of the governing board of the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), a position he is

Honeywell authorizes SAEI for APUs Honeywell has appointed Saudi Arabian MRO Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI) as the first authorized Honeywell service center in the Middle East region.

The appointment includes a global license for the 131-9 auxiliary power unit (APU) installed on Boeing 737NG and Airbus A320 aircraft.

Wholly owned by Saudi Arabian Airlines Holding, SAEI claims to be one of the largest

and most experienced MROs in the Middle East and North Africa region.

As part of the 10-year agreement, SAEI, from its facility in Jeddah, will provide inspection, repair, overhaul, and upgrades for the 131-9 APU models. Owners and operators of the aircraft can now have their APUs repaired locally in the Middle East instead of sending them to facilities outside the region, Honeywell said.

Mohammed Mohaisen, president and CEO, Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and Central Asia, Honeywell (front left), director general of Saudi Arabian Airlines, His Excellency Eng. Ibrahim Alomar (front right), Ryan Lees, president, EMEAI aftermarket, Honeywell Aerospace (back, left) and Fahd Hamzh Cynndy, CEO, SAEI, at the Honeywell-SAEI signing ceremony at the Dubai Airshow on Sunday.

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expected to hold until the end of 2022.

Gray market charter continues to be an area of considerable concern in the Middle East, as elsewhere. At least seven associations around the world, led by IBAC, launched the Air Charter Safety Alliance last December to warn governments and the industry of the persistent threat it poses to safe private travel.

“We have to educate people,” said Alnaqbi. “We have to raise awareness of how dangerous this is, not just to alert the industry, but all participants, especially passengers. Each business association around the world was in contact with government to implement effective oversight. The plan is to adopt a global procedure making it easier to report and capture information on cases of illegal gray market charter [flights], and [clarify] the steps to be taken in cases of infringement.”

Alnaqbi maintained that the number of accidents in the Gulf Cooperation Council states has been negligible. “There’s a reason for that: there are a lot of solid new aircraft flying around the region. They are not that old,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the industry is looking to the MEBAA Show in Dubai in December 2022 to further restore confidence. Alnaqbi said MEBAA Morocco event could next take place in 2023 after this year’s scheduled event was canceled. He added that conferences in Jordan, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia would continue as soon as possible, as there had been good demand for them before the pandemic. n

“SAEI is already an important partner for us, and the company will soon become Honeywell’s first APU licensed service center for narrow-body APUs in the Middle East region,” said Mohammed Mohaisen, Honeywell president and CEO for the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and Central Asia.

“This appointment extends our relationship with SAEI to better serve our customers in the region by giving them access to faster, locally accessible maintenance services,” he added. “Our strategic partnership supports SAEI’s Saudi Vision 2030 objectives and is further proof of Honeywell’s commitment to localization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

SAEI began its collaboration with Honeywell in 2013. With the completion of more than 100 APU repairs, SAEI has renewed its focus on realizing localization ambitions under the Saudi Vision 2030 goals.

“I am confident that our industry-leading capabilities will provide airline owners and operators with easy access to reliable, cost-effective, and timely services, enabling them to achieve enhanced safety and efficiency while offering superior passenger connectivity and convenience,” said SAEI CEO Fahd Cynndy.

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years. NASA ultimately aims to introduce electrified aircraft propulsion (EAP) technologies to U.S. airline fleets by 2035.

Under its latest EPFD contract, GE will use a modified Saab 340 testbed to flighttest the combination of a GE CT7-9B turboshaft engine, battery power, motor generator, inverter, and converter, forming a system that “can support future architectures in conjunction with an airframer,” said Andrews. GE chose the CT7 as the ideal size for testing a system that designers can scale and modify to “support a variety of platforms.”

GE’s EPFD R&D work is not officially linked to its research within the CFM partnership to develop and mature new fuel-efficient, low-emissions technologies for future airliner engines under the RISE program. But Travis Harper, GE Aviation’s RISE program manager, said the EPFD contract work will provide “foundational technologies” that will “directly benefit the systems in the Open Fan” CFM is designing within RISE.

Pratt & Whitney Canada’s Hybrid Bid

In July, P&WC announced that, following a C$163 million investment by the governments of Canada and Québec, it would advance research with program partners Collins Aerospace and De Havilland Canada to develop a hybrid-electric propulsion system to flight demonstration. Over a 250 nm sector distance, the project aims to demonstrate a 30 percent reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions compared with a modern regional turboprop airliner such as the DHC Dash 8-100—one of which the partners will use as the flight-test demonstrator.

P&WC had already been working on the project—previously known as Project 804—with Collins since 2019. “Building on advances in conceptual and component design made during Project 804, we are continuing our collaboration with Collins, and, realizing the need to work closely with an airframe OEM to achieve a flight demonstrator, are working with De Havilland Canada to drive the technology towards its next phase of development and eventual demonstration,” said Jean Thomassin, executive director, new product and service introduction for P&WC. Collins Aerospace will provide the 1-megawatt electric motor and motor controller. P&WC leads the development of the battery systems and is working with a number of collaborators on potential configurations. De Havilland Canada will support the integration of the new hybrid-electric propulsion technology and batteries within the Dash 8-100 airframe, including designing a modified nacelle to house the hybrid-electric system. It will also provide the cockpit interfaces needed to monitor and control the hybrid-electric technology.

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DAVID McINTOSH

Engine technology research

Boeing’s 777X joins the airshow set, making an entrance at Dubai 2021

After a 15-hour nonstop flight on November 9 from Boeing Field in Seattle—the first international flight for the 777X—the big twin-engine jet took a bow at the Dubai Airshow. The 777X’s 12-foot-long folding wingtips garnered plenty of attention from showgoers, while its steep climbs and turns during the flying display highlighted the fly-by-wire jet’s maneuverability.

The project will replace one of the Dash 8-100’s installed PW121A engines with a less-powerful turboshaft engine provided by P&WC, in combination with the 1-megawatt electric motor provided by Collins. Together the two motors will provide 2 megawatts of power, which is similar to the 2,000 shp total power output of the PW121. They will drive the propeller already installed on the Dash 8-100 demo aircraft. During takeoff and climb, the electric motor will provide a power boost, allowing a smaller fuel-burning engine to be optimally sized for the cruise phase, thereby creating fuel-efficiency benefits.

Meanwhile, P&WC parent Pratt & Whitney is working on two programs, one under a new NASA contract and the other in partnership with the FAA, to develop new fuel-efficient, emissions-reducing technologies for commercial aircraft.

As part of NASA’s Sustainable Flight National Partnership, NASA has awarded P&W a contract to develop advanced high-pressure turbine technologies for next-generation single-aisle aircraft through the Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) project. HyTEC seeks to develop next-generation CMC materials that will operate at higher temperatures than current CMCs, environmental barrier coatings, and advanced cooling and aerodynamic approaches to enable new component designs and efficiencies.

P&W and the FAA have committed to investing a total of $50 million in R&D to develop an ultra-quiet engine fan and advanced combustion technology

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designed to reduce noise, emissions, and fuel consumption as part of the third phase of the FAA’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN III) initiative. Pratt & Whitney has served as an FAA partner since CLEEN began in 2010.

Rolls-Royce UltraFan Advancing

Rolls-Royce is now building the first demonstrator engine in Derby for its UltraFan advanced turbofan program and the demonstrator will run entirely on SAF for the first time next year. According to Rolls-Royce, the UltraFan will offer a 25 percent fuel burn improvement over the first Trent; a 40 percent reduction in NOx; and a reduction of up to 35 percent in noise. It will produce at least 50 percent less non-volatile particulate matter at airports and almost zero nvPM at cruise.

The OEM has designed the UltraFan to produce from 25,000 to 100,000 pounds of thrust. It features a new engine core architecture, ceramic matrix composites, and a geared design. Earlier this year, the demonstrator’s power gearbox set a new world record at 64 megawatts while on test at the company’s facility in Dahlewitz, Germany.

“The success that we’ve seen with our power gearbox and other technologies that are going into UltraFan, give us great confidence going forward,” said Andy Geer, chief engineer for the UltraFan. “Our first run of the engine demonstrator will be a great moment—a brand-new engine design, running on 100 percent SAF from the outset.”

Rolls-Royce participates in electrified-propulsion work for projects such

as small propeller aircraft, air taxis, commuter, and regional aircraft. Its planned electrical propulsion systems range from kilowatt power to megawatt power, the OEM often working with start-up companies to establish a strong presence in a rapidly evolving sector.

One example—Accel—seeks to set an airspeed record for an electrically powered aircraft. Rolls-Royce developed a battery system with UK start-up Electroflight to serve as a potential power and propulsion system for pure and hybrid-electric aircraft designers.

The engine manufacturer is also involved in a wide range of inter-city and intra-city programs in the kilowatt class and hybrid-electric programs incorporating gas turbines. They include the 2.5-megawatt Power Generation System 1, now undergoing testing in Bristol. Capable of powering future hybrid-electrical regional aircraft, the PGS 1 is being run with a Rolls-Royce AE2100 turboprop engine—the engine type that powers the Lockheed C-130J. According to RollsRoyce, the PGS 1 also would also power a more electric larger aircraft.

Rolls-Royce also continues research on hydrogen-based propulsion for smallto-regional aircraft. It contends that, although hydrogen does not readily lend itself to application as a simple drop-in fuel, its viability more likely lies with its power density as a fuel cell instead of a battery or as a fuel combusted in a gas turbine—in which case the only emission would be water vapor. n

KIAL Kuwait takes third HEMS Bell 429 Helicopter manufacturer Bell (Chalet A4445) announced the sale of a Bell 429 to Kuwait International Aircraft Leasing (KIAL) for use by the Ministry of Health’s helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) operation. Bell expects to deliver the aircraft in August 2022.

Almost 400 light-twin Bell 429s operate today in a variety of uses, such as emergency missions, law enforcement, parapublic, oil and gas, and corporate transport.

“We are very familiar with the aircraft’s excellent performance in our hot environment and its ability to move patients from emergency scenes to our medical facilities,” said Jassem Buqamber, Kuwait’s air ambulance commander. “We look forward to the delivery of the third helicopter,

Members of Abu Dhabi Aviation’s helicopter fleet at the company’s Abu Dhabi International Airport base include the Bell 412EPI and the Leonardo AW139.

Abu Dhabi Aviation sets up in Ghana and Cyprus

which will allow us to expand our operations within the country.”

The Bell 429 is well suited to HEMS missions as well as search and rescue and, with space for up to six people, is operated by many governments all around the world.

“We are honored that that State of Kuwait has again selected the Bell 429 as their light-twin helicopter of choice for their latest HEMS contract,” said Sameer Rehman, Bell managing director for the Middle East and Africa. “Its remarkable flight performance, coupled with its multi-mission pedigree, make it perfectly suited to the Ministry of Health’s aim of providing advanced emergency life support to all areas of Kuwait.”

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by Peter Shaw-Smith

Leonardo Connection

Pierotti said the company has a special relationship with Leonardo. “The oil and gas industry is really embracing the AW139,” he explained. “We quickly realized its importance.” ADA has added three AW139s and two AW169s in the past two years.

The company has considered larger aircraft such as the AW189 and Bell 525, but Pierotti said larger variants had yet to establish their market feasibility.

He added that ADA restrategized when Covid hit. “We looked at where it could affect us and where we could find opportunities and we managed to capitalize on them,” he noted. “Covid did affect us.

Staff became sick and restrictions really

hit our operation; pilots and engineers Saudi Arabia, customers include Aramco, Northern Europe, and they’ve all got offwere marooned in different countries. We the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, and the shore wind farms.” couldn’t get them back for projects. Nev- Red Sea Development Company.

In the next 12 to 24 months, ADA hopes ertheless, we reacted and did very well in With the situation in Afghanistan wind- to win a contract for renewable energy 2019 and 2020.” ing down, Pierotti said ADA had to bring helicopter use, cleaning, and wind turbine ADA’s two new projects in Malaysia and aircraft home. “That was a long project assembly. “Many of the areas are in the Angola involve four AW139s. It placed two that [recently] ended,” he said. “In India, north of Europe, and that means competAW139 helicopters with Sazma Aviation in we found a new customer with Thumby ing with the big names in Scotland, in parMalaysia, which supplies national oil com- Aviation, who are taking a Bell 412.” ticular, Norway, Belgium, and Denmark,” he pany Petronas with offshore oil and gas.

ADA has placed two older 412s into South said. “We know that’s challenging because ADA provides aircraft, spare parts support, Africa with Ultimate Helicopters, which the British and European companies are and consignments, and power by the hour. operates in Zambia. It also added the Air- strong there, but it is something we’re “ADA is looking to expand with Sazma bus H135 to its AOC as well to its Part 145 considering. Our strength is still the Midwith more AW139s,” said Pierotti. “In maintenance rating. dle East and our core customer remains Angola, we supplied Bestfly in July with The renewables market is key, as ADA ADNOC; ADA is still the biggest in MENA.” two brand-new AW139s straight from the investigates alternative business lines and Pierotti sees the Dubai Airshow as factory, PBH, and training for their pilots, revenue sources. “The alternative energy an important event for the company. also for the oil and gas industry. We are market requires helicopters for windmill “Our leadership has the vision to take continuing to work with both companies assembly, cable and windmill inspections, the ADA Group into the future, and we as new customers. Bestfly is hoping to cleaning, and maintenance,” said Pierroti. offer reliable and capable aviation serexpand further with Eni and Chevron, “We are trying to get into West Africa and vices worldwide.” n with AW139s and AW169s.”

Cyprus has also been important, signaling the company’s entry into Europe. “We worked with Synesis Aviation, and we supplied the AW139 for oil and gas tenders,” he said. “We continued our relationship in Europe with Spain’s Pegasus Aviation, supplying them with firefighting aircraft.”

The government of Abu Dhabi owns 30 percent of ADA, while UAE national shareholders, including a number on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market, control the rest. The group includes global charter operator Royal Jet, Maximus Cargo Airline, ADA Millennium Consultancy, Abu Dhabi Aviation Training Company, and Adaire Real Estate Company.

UAE Government Contracts

In the UAE, ADA provides service for several governmental bodies, ranging from the Abu Dhabi Police Aviation Division to the UAE Presidential Guard Command to the Presidential Flight. It also works with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, which has a number of affiliates that also require both onshore and offshore lift. In

DAVID McINTOSH

The UAE’s helicopter, jet charter, and MRO service operator, Abu Dhabi Aviation (Stand 1120), has established local operating companies in Ghana and Cyprus to cover West Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, as the drive for new project work with international oil majors Eni, BP, Chevron, Exxon, and Total continues.

“We’re doing our best to win tenders and to get local content in different countries,” Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA) Commercial Department director Mark Pierotti told AIN. “It makes sense, and we [want] to keep our fleet modern and up-to-date.”

ADA is an approved aviation service provider for major oil and gas companies around the world and continues to expand internationally in Europe, Africa, and Asia as well as the Middle East. “In the past two years, we’ve moved aircraft into Cyprus, Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, Zambia, and Malaysia,” he said.

ADA has added a number of new Leonardo AW139s, as well as two Airbus H145s.

“We’re up to 65 aircraft,” he said. “The majority is rotary-wing, with the new Airbus and the new Leonardos in that number. Our fixed-wing Dash 8s are working hard as well, conducting regional flights in central Asia.”

Finding the right kind of rotorcraft

The Airbus exhibit at Dubai Airshow 2021 proved a popular gathering spot for visitors who wanted to learn more about the European manufacturer’s products.

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IAI hopes to open Abu Dhabi 777 P2F site

IAI and Gecas launched a Boeing 777-300ER passengerto-freighter conversion program in 2019.

by Peter Shaw-Smith Following an agreement signed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI, Stand 300) and Etihad Engineering (Stand 1110) in August, the Abu Dhabi site earmarked as the likely location for the first Boeing 777300ER conversion center outside Israel could go into operation in as little as 12 months, Yossi Melamed, general manager, IAI Aviation Group, told AIN. “I believe that that by the end of 2022, or the beginning of 2023, the site is going to be ready for its first conversion,” he said.

“It will take us about a year to prepare. We have to adapt the culture, build up the toolkits, and train and educate the team. They will also have to pass on-the-job training.”

Melamed add that the site would be located at Etihad Engineering’s Abu Dhabi International Airport facility, where two 777-300ERSF lines would operate. “They have a very good, high-quality MRO center there,” he said. “The good thing with Etihad is that they already have [two] hangars, but we have to prepare them for conversion.”

Yossi Melamed, general manager, IAI Aviation Group

I believe that by the end of 2022, or the beginning of 2023, the site is going to be ready for its first conversion.”

Melamed remarked on the quality and cleanliness of the site, as well as the dedication of the staff at Etihad Engineering.

Training accounted for an important part of the agreement, with 20 Etihad staffers likely to travel to Israel for on-site training at IAI’s home conversion facility.

Initially, at least, he expects a small number of Israeli engineers to work on the ground in Abu Dhabi with the Etihad team. “We will have a couple of people on each aircraft,” he said. “At the end of the day, the responsibility is very high—we are the owner.”

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Melamed explained how the deal came IAI has additional P2F conversion sites continued from page 17 about after Israel and the UAE signed the in Italy, Mexico, Ethiopia, two in China, Abraham Accords in 2020, and how, even and a line in Brazil on hold due to the panbefore that milestone, IAI had assessed demic. “We are looking for other sites, but Etihad Engineering as a “very good we’ll manage our business cautiously,” he MRO competitor.” said. “I expect to deliver about 150 to 155 He sees strong demand for ERSF con- converted aircraft in the next five or six versions. “I think that the coming year years, among them several 737s.” solution. But there will be plenty of other will be important for long-haul widebodsolutions—the market is big enough,” he ies; they are the only replacements for the A330, A380 Possibilities said, stressing the A330P2F’s “huge potenold Boeing 747s and the MD11s,” explained Melamed also referred to Airbus as a tial.” The fact that the secondary market Melamed. “I believe that e-commerce will good target for conversions. “I believe “finds new business applications is good,” continue to grow. Actually, new highs are that A330 is a good candidate; we’ll see asserted Scherer. being achieved every year.” in the future about the A380,” he said.

In 2019, IAI and GE Capital Aviation “Conversion of the A321 is not a brilliant Changing of the Guard Services (Gecas) launched the Boeing idea. There’s a lot of market competition As of September 2021, Airbus collected 777-300ERSF program, a P2F conversion and it doesn’t appeal. But the A330 is a orders for 1,442 passenger A330ceo airscheme known as “The Big Twin,” mark- good candidate.” planes and delivered 1,418 since the moding it as the largest-ever twin-engine In the past four years, Melamed was el’s service entry in 1994, providing an freighter. “The 777 will be a good replace- asked to unify four IAI civil units: Lahav ample source of airframes to support the ment for the four-engine aircraft, which Aerostructure division, the engineering conversion program for many years. consume a lot of fuel,” he said. group, the commercial group, and Bedek Market interest in A330 cargo converIAI will keep the Bedek Special Aviation group. “Four years ago, I man- sions has focused mainly on the -300, Freighter (BDSF) brand for all 767s, while aged about 2,000 people; today, I’m man- said McDonald, noting “rapidly reducing” it refers to the 777 as the ‘Extended Range aging 5,000-plus, with a budget of around feedstock pricing of A330 passenger airSpecial Freighter’ or ‘ERSF,’ to emphasize $1.5 billion.” craft. On June 30, 249 A330-200s and 245 the long distances it can fly.

Melamed noted he couldn’t predict how A330-300s sat in storage, reported Leedelays to the Boeing 777X program would ham News. Pre-Covid, a 2009 Roll-Royce First 777-300ERSF Underway affect the availability of 777 ‘Classic’ feed- Trent powered passenger A330-300 cost IAI said it started the conversion of the stock for IAI conversion programs. some $25 million; now that asset attracts first 777-300ERSF in Tel Aviv in August He expects more commercial deals in about $15 million and, in some cases, a for delivery in 2022 to launch customer the Gulf: “We have signed a line mainte- little less, according to IBA analysis. The Kalitta Air. Melamed said initial Abu nance deal with the Bahrainis, we have situation means that cargo operators Dhabi conversion units would not likely now signed with Etihad, and I am sure can seek a much younger aircraft than come from UAE airlines but rather from there will be more.” the early MSNs and “reap the benefits of those outside the Middle East hesitant to As to relationships that could develop additional years of useful life and a lonsend aircraft to Israel for conversion. with military entities like UAE defense ger-term investment in the asset,” the “There will be other customer groups to conglomerate Edge Group, he said: “I consultancy concluded. start with,” he stressed. “With regard to wish there would be a good connection Convey predicted that growth will our business relationship with Emirates and mutual projects that both countries gradually shift from 757-200 towards and Etihad, I prefer not to comment. If could work on. I don’t think I am able to A321-200 cargo conversions in the larger something happens, we will publish it. talk about them now, but we definitely narrowbody segment and from the 767 We see Abu Dhabi as a global site, not a anticipate that those kinds of connec- towards the A330 in the medium widelocal Gulf site. We didn’t open it just for tions and projects will happen.” body segment. A “changing of the guard” conversions of aircraft from Gulf airlines.”

He expressed certainty more areas for fur- will result from the depletion of 757/ 767 Today, of up to 17 conversion slots in ther cooperation will arise. “We have other feedstock for conversion and the rise in Israel, IAI runs seven for the Boeing 767, ideas as good as Etihad,” he said. “Could A321/A330 availability, he said. all of which are committed until 2024 to we work with Mubadala, Emirates, or other Boeing, meanwhile, remains confident 2025. However, Melamed does not face a companies? That’s the nature of our business. it will keep its lead over Airbus in the capacity shortage. “We want to convert We want to find ways to do business and, in global freighter jet market, both for pro777s immediately for 2023,” he said. “I an environment of peace, the sky’s the limit. duction freighters and P2Fs. want to believe that the 767s will continue This agreement is good for Etihad, good for Airbus has sold only 38 production and that in parallel, there will be 777s, as the UAE, good for IAI, and good for Israel. A330Fs and its new A350F has not yet well as other types of aircraft, to convert.” We are starting. It’s excellent.” n attracted a launch customer. n

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